An Ethical Dilemma Essay - 1660 Words

According to Viren Swami, a professor at the University of Westminster, â€Å"animal testing, or animal research, refers to the use of animals in experiments within academic, research, or commercial establishments† (Christopher, 269). Sounds simple enough, but Swami does not mention how this testing affects the animals or why this is such a controversial issue among the public. M.J. Prescott, from the National Center for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animal Research, makes a very good point when he says that: Many people, including from within the scientific community, consider that the use of NHPs [nonhuman primates] in research is a matter of particular ethical concern because certain features NHPs share with†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"Are we, human beings, morally justified in causing animals pain, suffering, distress and/or lasting harm in research aimed at alleviating or preventing human suffering, or furthering scientific knowledge?† (Prescott, 12) Some people might answer this question by saying that it depends on what kind of research is being done. Others might say that the use of animals for human benefit is morally unacceptable. Prescott makes another great point about the use of any animal for medical research when he says, â€Å"†¦it is difficult for us, as human beings, to judge capacities for suffering in, or to empathize with, species who are evolutionarily different from us†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (15). This answers his previously posed question about whether o r not humans are justified to cause pain to animals by saying that humans cannot accurately judge how much pain an animal is in that is being used for medical research. When it comes to the use of NHPs and how they are treated after being used for medical research, â€Å"the majority of NHPs used in experiments are euthanized, either because their tissues are required as part of the experiment or on compassionate grounds to alleviate unnecessary suffering† (Prescott, 15). This seems humane enough, but the animals being used would not normally have gone through these medically induced situations in the wild, so their death would be premature when compared to NHPs that live in the wild. There has been an increase in theShow MoreRelatedEthical Dilemmas Of The Workplace1538 Words   |  7 Pages1. Discuss an ethical dilemma that you have had to face in the workplace. Ethical dilemmas often occur when a manager or an employee is faced with two or more conflicting choices. Give as many facts and details as possible in describing your dilemma. The most difficult ethical dilemma I have dealt with was a summer job I had this past summer, while I was working for a bakery in my hometown. This past particular summer really tested what I believe is right and wrong and how to speak up. One of myRead MoreEthical Dilemmas Of The Workplace1291 Words   |  6 PagesEthical Dilemmas in the Workplace As a manager, you are the role model for staff. You set the standards, adhere to guidelines, and exemplify what you expect staff to model. By doing so, you are establishing and sustaining an organizational culture of ethics and integrity, which is the backbone of all successful endeavors. However, even the best structured organizations face ethical dilemmas in the workplace. It is how management recognizes and addresses these occurrences that will either set themRead MoreEthical Dilemma Assignment1766 Words   |  8 PagesCONSENT FORM Thank you for being willing to take part in this interview exploring ethical conflict or turbulence. I would like to transcribe the content of this interview to form a written document to be submitted to Sheffield Hallam University as a piece of assessed piece of coursework. It is important that you only take part in this interview if you want to. As such I would be delighted if you would complete and sign this confidentiality questionnaire prior to the interview taking place. (i)Read MoreCase Analysis : Ethical Dilemma1318 Words   |  6 PagesTitle of Paper: Ethical Dilemma One INTRODUCTION Mrs. Smith, is an 81-year-old widow. She has been widowed for over twenty years. She has been very independent with some assistance from neighbors due to her son living out of the area and unable to assist. Recently, she has had issues with her independence. She has set two accidental fires that caused damages to her apartment, as well as had a recent fall in the bathtub. These issues have gained her son’s attention which has led him to requestRead MoreEthical Dilemma at Workplace Essay1192 Words   |  5 Pagesï » ¿Introduction – What is an ethical dilemma? Ethics is the term we give to our concern for good behavior.   It is human nature to not only be concerned with our own personal well being, but also that of others and of human society as a whole.   The difference between moral dilemmas and ethical ones, philosophers say, is that in moral issues the choice is between right and wrong.   In ethical ones, the choice is between two rights. Everyday Im faced with decisions of right and wrong, most of whichRead Moret Types of ethical dilemmas Mastery67Questions123Materials Essay2477 Words   |  10 PagesTypes of ethical dilemmas Mastery 67% Questions 1 2 3 Materials on the concept: Typical Moral Dilemmas Confronting Business Communicators Ethics and Law for Management Communication Top of Form 1. As part of an effort to hire younger workers, a multinational organization assures applicants that they will get to visit its offices in other countries and work with the employees there. However, only two out of every nine workers actually get selected for such projects. What moral dilemma best fitsRead MoreThe Ethical Dilemmas of Collecting Data and the Consequential Revision of Commodities, Culture and the Politics of Representations Definitions 1751 Words   |  7 Pagesinformation or data has become assets to companies, being regarded as property to be bought and sold to between companies. However, this has put forward the following primary ethical dilemmas surrounding human rights: the right to informed consent and the right to personal data. In addition to the creation of ethical dilemmas, the collection of human data has brought about a need for a revision of definitions. Commodities are known as a raw material or primary agricultural product that can be boughtRead More Will the Real Lupe Garza Please Stand Up? Essay1216 Words   |  5 PagesAn ethical dilemma is defined as a moral issue, where a situation has two equivalent undesirable alternatives and neither choice will resolve the ethical predicament. Lupe Garza, mother of two children, is a temporary employee at a plant. Garza is an excellent and talented worker, and supervisors have taken notice in her skills. A human resource specialist named Sara Jones, mislead Garza in thinking she would unquestionably obtain a permanent job position at the plant, causing Garza to turn downRead MoreThe Ethical Principles Of Respect For Autonomy984 Words   |  4 Pagesthe nurse to administer blood despite Mark’s refusal. This situation presents an ethical dilemma to the health professionals involved in Mark’s care. The ethical dilemma is whether to uphold his decision not to receive the blood and therefore risk his life or give him the blood to save his life despite knowing his religious status and beliefs. There are several ethical principles involved in this scenario. The ethical principles of respect for Autonomy, Beneficence, Non-maleficence, Veracity and FidelityRead MoreDuty to Warn Essays1522 Words   |  7 PagesDuty t o Warn Jessica Hall PSYCH/545 09/4/2011 Dr. P. Duty to Warn The ethical dilemma I wish to explore is The Duty to Warn. This refers to the duty of a counselor, therapist to breach one of the most important bonds between a client and a therapist; the law of confidentiality. The therapist has the right to break confidentiality without the fear of being brought up for legal action. If the therapist believes that the client poses a danger, or is a threat to himself, someone else, or society

Big Brother In 1984 Essay - 1405 Words

In 1984, the novel by George Orwell, a story of a totalitarian government was created in order to send a warning to all nations post World War II. In this novel the government is set up in a hierarchical system. Atop this hierarchy is Big Brother, which is a symbol for the ruling government power. Directly below Big Brother is the Inner Party. The Inner Party is the ruling Party in Oceania; those in the Inner Party are responsible for the campaigns for Big Brother and the Party’s regime. Below the Inner Party is the Outer Party. The Outer Party does most of the white collar jobs, such as rewrite history as Big Brother finds necessary, creates the ad campaigns and write books as Big Brother decides them to be written. The Proles are at the†¦show more content†¦In the majority of novels with a hero, the hero or heroine is courageous, strong, and charismatic. Winston Smith who, is a weak individual, both physically and mentally, and lacks the wits to avoid detection, is an anti-hero as he betrays himself as well as his love interest and ultimately accepts defeat in this particular novel. Heroes tend to have a lot of physical strength, allowing them to fight their enemies and opponents. Our anti-hero, is evidently unable to physically beat his enemies, or at least resist their strength with his own. From the beginning of the novel, it is evident that Winston Smith is physically inept as the narrator states, â€Å"The flat was seven flights up, and Winston, who was thirty-nine, and had a varicose ulcer above his right ankle, went slowly resting several times on the way.†(P1) The lacking of physical abilities is present in fact that Smith had to stop multiple times climbing the stairs. A physically ept man on his age should be able to climb a few flight of stairs without stopping. To further the evidence of Smith’s lack of fitness, during a morning exercise routine, â€Å"A Sudden hot sweat had broken out all over Winston’s body.† (P37) The exercises which the comrades were partaking in were mere stretches, which Winston had difficulty with, further confirming this physical fitness is sub-par. In novels with heroes and heroines, the hero or heroine is brave and mentally strong; toShow MoreRelated1984 Big Brother Essay1153 Words   |  5 PagesIn the novel 1984, by George Orwell Big Brother does not appear in the reading but still has a significant presence in the novel. Although Big brother never appears physically in the novel he is considered the ruler of Oceania. All over Oceania you can find propaganda posters with his face on it. The poster says, â€Å"BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU†. Big brothers face is also on coins and telescreens. Even though the ideas and views of Big brother and the party have brainwashed most people except a fewRead MoreEssay On Big Brother Control In 1984814 Words   |  4 Pages In the book 1984,by George Orwell, The main character Winston has a love affair with a girl named Julia.Their leader Big Brother controls all and knows all. They later get caught by the thought police and put through extreme conditions to reduce them to their core. Big Brother uses violence, manipulation, and propaganda to brainwash and control the perceptions of â€Å"his† citizens therefore , indicating it is possible to change people’s reality.   Ã‚  Ã‚   One of the many ways Big Brother controls his peopleRead More 1984 Big Brother Is Watching You Essay1149 Words   |  5 Pagesthe novel 1984, by George Orwell. Authority was also a profound factor in Stanley Milgramamp;#8217;s experiment conducted in 1974. It seems that authority has been around longer than any of us can remember, and it is authority that dictates the way we act. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Authority is based on instinct. When we receive an order, we intuitively react and follow the command. At first, we do not think, nor contemplate the effects that come as a result of our actions. In 1984, we get aRead MoreThe Individual vs. Big Brother in 1984 Essay1173 Words   |  5 PagesThe Individual vs. Big Brother in 1984 â€Å"That is what has brought you here. You would not make the act of submission which is the price of sanity. You preferred to be a lunatic, a minority of one. Only the disciplined mind can see reality, Winston. [†¦] Reality is not external. Reality exists in the human mind, and nowhere else. Not in the individual mind, which can make mistakes, and in any case soon perishes: only in the mind of the Party, which is collective and immortal. Whatever the PartyRead MoreFreedom of Media: Big Brother and 1984 Essay898 Words   |  4 Pagescitizens. The government can abuse its abundance of authority by controlling all of the media available to the citizens. In 1984, Orwell fears government control of media because it helped brainwash and control the citizens in Nazi Germany and the USSR and today it continues to inhibit free will and thought in areas such as China and Russia. Several times throughout 1984, Orwell emphasizes the dangers of the government having total control of the media. The government holds a tight rein over theRead More1984: Nineteen Eighty-four and Big Brother Essay1324 Words   |  6 Pageswhich independent thinking is a crime punishable by death, the government does not think of the common good by which all of the society will benefit, and the leaders are self-serving. Big Brother doesnt need to justify its ways because it holds all of the power in society through its ministries. In the novel, 1984 by George Orwell, there is one theme that stands out the most from the point of view from Winston, the main theme of the book is that government’s intentions are not benevolent, but self-servingRead MoreA Rhetorical Analysis on Nineteen Eighty-Four1044 Words   |  5 PagesRunning Head: NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR Nineteen Eighty Four: A Critical Essay on Rhetoric Bereket Kifle Composition 12 Honors Abstract George Orwell employs the usage of different rhetoric throughout 1984.  Ã‚  The rhetoric differs from describing the human body and its struggle to survive to the different crimes and how the citizens felt about them.  Ã‚  Also, within  1984  lies a warning from Orwell: to eliminate the caustic consequences of a communist government.  Ã‚  While OrwellRead More1984 By George Orwell1038 Words   |  5 Pages 1984 by George Orwell Brittany Beard Creative Writing 12/14/17 Abstract In this essay, I will use three sources to develop an answer to the question: â€Å"What relevance does Orwell’s text, 1984, written in 1948, have on today’s society?†. I will discuss today’s society’s use of words used in, 1984. The sources given are all relatable, but i have chosen these three, because I can give a better reasoning to how they are relatable. I must include Citations for all informationRead MoreEssay on The Utopia of Orwell and Foucault1368 Words   |  6 Pagesover all individual bodies-this is the utopia of the perfectly governed city† (Foucault, 6) This quote extracted from the Essay Panopticism written by Michel Foucault perfectly describes in detail the controls put on the citizens of Big Brother’s Oceania in George Orwell’s 1984. Through control of relation, surveillance, and separating out their dangerous mixtures Big Brother obtains a government system, which is described by Foucault as a â€Å"Utopi a.† The Utopia relies upon more than one methodRead More1984 Ap Essay890 Words   |  4 Pages1976. The conflict created when the will of an individual opposes the will of the majority is the recurring theme of many novels, plays, and essays. Select the work of an essayist who is in opposition to his or her society; or from a work of recognized literary merit, select a fictional character who is in opposition to his or her society. In a critical essay, analyze the conflict and discuss the moral and ethical implications for both the individual and the society. Do not summarize the plot or action

Philosophy of Nursing

Question: Identify similar themes/commonalities that your classmates have written. The point value is based on your response to others posts. Answer: According to Aysha Ortiz having a nursing degree from well known Schools and her common goal is working together which I believe is the major opportunity for me as a nursing professional because team work and togetherness make us what we are today by serving the individuals at the right time in right ways. The profound idea of care giving is a kind of philosophy that I think is quite acknowledgeable and similar to me as I have entered into this profession having a primary aim of serving people and development of community (Brencick and Webster, 2000). In these current times, the nurses are being competence with machines and however, I believe that machines are one of those necessary equipments that provide better and accurate care giving facilities simultaneously this are readily controlled and monitored b the nurse itself. Having a good feeling of participating in someone healing is the great achievement particularly in nursing profession. Besides that, communication is another major factor that provides crucial impact to the overall care giving procedure and it has been accomplished significantly with the help of effective communication with the patient. With the advancement of technological applications the surgeries can be carried out by the robotics mechanism but the nursing is something categories in humanistic care that helps in patient recovery (Sellman, 2014). Most importantly, it would not be possible by a machine to provide care to a patient instead of a human thus, the philosophical prospective of my class mates are pr etty similar to my own thoughts and philosophies related to nursing. References Brencick, J. and Webster, G. (2000).Philosophy of nursing. Albany, N.Y.: State University of New York Press. Sellman, D. (2014). On losing three friends of Nursing Philosophy.Nursing Philosophy, 16(1), pp.1-2.

Oral Communication Essays - Communication Studies,

Oral Communication Once viewed as two separate disciplines, business and communication, have now meshed together to produce a hybrid business environment in which the everyday functions of business are intimately tied to communication (Pincus, 1997). Communication in the business world is imperative for success. This holds true for interpersonal communication, communication between management and staff, and for practically every other contact a business has, both within its own establishment and the outside world. Effective communication is critical for the success of any organization. Through the use of proper communication skills, individuals will be better able to function as a group, thus allowing organizations to share information, analyze situations and to set goals (Nelton, 1995). Communicating properly among peers improves an individual's all around skills. The more successfully a business functions the better it enables employees to perform jobs better. Managers pass on information and train subordinates more effectively, and in general a business has a better chance of profiting. In today's turbulent economic environment and rapid technological change, communication is critical in allowing a business to deal with the restructuring of national and international economies, in preventing market saturation, and in allowing a business to deal with their competitors more effectively (Nelton, 1995, PG). Cushman and King (1997) have proposed the ?high speed management? to describe this new b usiness environment. They emphasize the importance of communication in this theory and conclude that: ?In the final analysis it is the innovative, adaptable, flexible, efficient, and rapid use of information and communication which allows an organization to reorient rapidly and successfully in a volatile business environment.? Another very important factor in the changing business environment is that of globalization (Nelton, 1995). It is very evident when we look at the current state of world affairs that our world is becoming a smaller place. We now have overnight delivery of packages, email communication and the ever so popular cellular communication. Globalization and increased international business can be directly attributed to mass media and mass transit. With new technologies such as videophone, Internet chat and Internet meeting rooms the thought of globalization becomes a reality for even the smallest of companies. The concept of globalization sometimes approaches this change as being one which either should or will result in a complete homogenization of culture and the formation of a unified global community. At the very least globalization will result in a number of distinct border cultures, which are hybrids of interacting cultures. What this means is that the savvy business person not only ha s to be prepared to communicate with those of his or her own culture but also with other cultures (Nelton, 1995). Many obvious precipitators of this increased business contact between the world's cultures can be attributed to this globalization phenomenon. One of the reasons is international agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement. The North American Free Trade Agreement was initiated between the United States, Canada, and Mexico on January 1, 1994. This agreement referred to as the ?trade agreement? has had a huge impact on exchange of material and cultural goods between the United States and other nations in North America as well as on the degree of business communication which occurs between these countries. Increased business diversity is not only occurring because of factors such as the North American Free Trade Agreement, it is also occurring because of a greater number of cultures within business itself. Women in the workplace are also making the work force more diversified and increasing the need for more effective communication skills (Nelton, 1995). It is an acknowledged fact that conversational styles and communication skills vary between cultures and genders (Nelton, 1995). It has been noted regarding the increased business contact between cultures as a result of globalization; increased diversity in the workplace itself, whether through the presence of an increased number of cultures or through the presence of a greater number of women; businesses must now devote greater amounts of effort toward communication in recognition of the different communication styles which exist (Nelton, 1995). Deborah Tannen, author of ?Talking from Nine to Five? states: ?Each individual has a unique style, influenced by a personal history of many influences such as geographic region, ethnicity, class, sexual

Free Essays on Men Vs. Women Drivers

Men vs. Women Drivers Men and women drivers are hard for me to compare, since they are both bad, but in different ways. Men like to race their cars, and try to show off by spinning tires, and also spinning their cars. Women get in hurries and try to fix their hair and put on make-up while driving. I used to think that men were worse drivers than women, but as time passed by, I noticed that more of my female friends scared me more than my male friends. This is mostly due to carelessness on behalf of the driver. I was training a new first aid driver for work not too long ago, and the new driver was a female. She decided that she wanted to stop and get a newspaper, which was fine with me. But, then we merged onto I-85. She then proceeded to try to read the paper, while driving 75mph down the interstate, in rush hour traffic. I was terrified! I thought that I would probably be safer if a monkey were driving me around. Once, a guy I know that owns a Supra was trying to impress me with his car. He sped off, going down a back road, reaching speeds in excess of 130mph. Then, a car pulled out in front of him, and he had to slam on his brakes. We came so close to hitting the other car. I will never ride with that guy again. So, the difference between male and female drivers is the type of carelessness they use while driving. Guys tend to drive faster, while girls tend to not look at the road. Between the two of them, the roads of America are not very safe, because if the men are driving fast, while the women are not watching where they are going, then we will have lots of horrible wrecks.... Free Essays on Men Vs. Women Drivers Free Essays on Men Vs. Women Drivers Men vs. Women Drivers Men and women drivers are hard for me to compare, since they are both bad, but in different ways. Men like to race their cars, and try to show off by spinning tires, and also spinning their cars. Women get in hurries and try to fix their hair and put on make-up while driving. I used to think that men were worse drivers than women, but as time passed by, I noticed that more of my female friends scared me more than my male friends. This is mostly due to carelessness on behalf of the driver. I was training a new first aid driver for work not too long ago, and the new driver was a female. She decided that she wanted to stop and get a newspaper, which was fine with me. But, then we merged onto I-85. She then proceeded to try to read the paper, while driving 75mph down the interstate, in rush hour traffic. I was terrified! I thought that I would probably be safer if a monkey were driving me around. Once, a guy I know that owns a Supra was trying to impress me with his car. He sped off, going down a back road, reaching speeds in excess of 130mph. Then, a car pulled out in front of him, and he had to slam on his brakes. We came so close to hitting the other car. I will never ride with that guy again. So, the difference between male and female drivers is the type of carelessness they use while driving. Guys tend to drive faster, while girls tend to not look at the road. Between the two of them, the roads of America are not very safe, because if the men are driving fast, while the women are not watching where they are going, then we will have lots of horrible wrecks....

Carbonyl Definition in Chemistry

Carbonyl Definition in Chemistry Organic chemistry contains names for many different molecules and groups of molecules that participate in chemical reactions. These groups of molecules are called functional groups. The carbonyl group is an important group that contains the element carbon. Carbonyl Definition The term carbonyl refers to the carbonyl functional group which is a divalent group consisting of a carbon atom with a double-bond to oxygen, CO. Carbonyl also may refer to a compound formed by a metal with carbon monoxide  (CO).  Bivalent radical CO is found in ketones, acids, and aldehydes. Many of the molecules involved in the senses of smell and taste involve aromatic compounds with carbonyl groups. The CO entity is the carbonyl group, while a molecule that contains the group is called a carbonyl compound. Also Known As: carbonyl group, carbonyl functional group Carbonyl Example The metal compound nickel carbonate, Ni(CO)4, contains the CO carbonyl group. Source Wade, Jr., L.G. (2002). Organic Chemistry (5th ed.). Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-13-033832-X

Exam answer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Exam answer - Essay Example This a special type of field-effect transistor that is made by depositing thin layers of an active semi-conductor and dielectric layers contacts over a supporting substrate that is commonly glass. c)OLED: organic light-emitting diode. It is a LED where in response to a current, the emissive electroluminescent layer which is a film of organic compound emits light. OLEDs are used in the creation of digital displays in TV screens as well as computer monitors. Figure 1 shows the occurrence of visual distortion when anti-aliasing it not used. The image is hard to recognize, and it is not appealing. In figure 2, the edges appear smoother. Anti-aliasing is used in the blending of the pixels of a graphic. As s result, it is applied in rendering the text on a computer screen have a smooth contour for easy visibility. 4.Technology: many public-use touch screens such as kiosks make us of projective capacitive touch since it is a representation of only a flat glass surface. This assists in cleaning along with aesthetics. 6. It is almost impossible to accurately approximate the contrast ratio of the monitor by making use of the naked eye. As a result, the manufacturers usually inflate the numbers to some unrealistic values. The saturated colours are generated by having full or zero reflectance at any given wavelength. In the CIE chromaticity diagram, the U-shaped area that is surrounded by the dotted lines shows the range of colours that are visible to the human being’s naked eye. 9. A radiance meter measures the amount of light given off by a source. As a luminance, one needs to adjust the levels of light to the source as well as the whole surface area of the source of light. As a result, the value that represents all the light that is given off at a particular time. As chrominance meter, adjustments need to be made so that the meter would only detect specific ranges of wavelength and establish their values independently. This is because the white light emitted

Annotated bibliography/ Intelligence and Emotional development and Bibliography

/ Intelligence and Emotional development and self-esteem - Annotated Bibliography Example This paper focuses only on emotional development and self esteem and is written as an annotated bibliography in order to learn more about self esteem and emotional development. This article defines and explains self esteem in simple words. It says that â€Å"Self esteem is your opinion of yourself†. It explains that self esteem depends on question like: Is your job worthwhile? Do others respect what you do? Do you?;Do you believe you are successful?; How do you see yourself (your self image)?; How do you feel about your strengths and weaknesses?; Are you comparing yourself to others and ignoring the unique value that you have?; What do you think of your social status?; How do you relate to others?; Can you make your own decisions?. The above article divides self esteem into two; low self esteem and high self esteem and explains both of it in simple terms. Alexandria, NSW 2015. http://books.google.co.in/books?id=0TOuX5WW2cgC&printsec=frontcover&dq=self+esteem&source=bl&ots=3zAnBhbi6s&sig=Wi4vBbND5B2qfzqF631h2Gq-JXw&hl=en&ei=FcOETOHoKZC9ccGSsdAL&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CCUQ6AEwAjgK#v=onepage&q&f=false This book, which is available on Google defines self esteem as how we think and feel about ourselves. It refers to our looks, abilities and relationships. Apart from providing definition, this book explains the methods of measuring self esteem, high and low self esteems, body image, methods to boost self esteem, positive thinking, etc. It also explains some of the psychological disorders like depression and eating disorder caused by low self esteem. This book also explains how do we get self esteem and the different entities which can affect the development of a person’s self esteem. This article says that by the time a child becomes three years old, he or she will become an emotionally complex person who has experienced a wide range of emotions. Parents and

Theory Analysis of Critical Theory and Feminist Theory Essay Example for Free

Theory Analysis of Critical Theory and Feminist Theory Essay Critical theory and Feminist theory are both complex in terms of its structure and principles. Critical theory, according to Max Horkheimer in his work titled Traditional and Critical Theory, is a kind social theory oriented toward analyzing the society and in effect and altering society unlike the traditional theory which focuses only in recognizing, elucidating and giving details about it. Horkheimer furthered; â€Å"critical theory must be explanatory, normative and practical at the same time(Bohman, 2005).† That is, one must be aware and be able to identify things that are not in the right flow in a society, must be able to take actions to adjust or modify it. Critical theory being normative as further defined by Sailer must â€Å"be able to carry about alteration in the situations that influence our lives(Seiler).† Critical theory is a philosophical approach that includes feminist theory. Feminist theory seeks to discover the perception of gender. As explained by Sailer, â€Å" Feminist theory assumes that gender is an all-encompassing category for perceiving human experience. The case is that gender is a generally constructed classification of values, identities, and activities. It also emphasizes that sex is biologically determined. It intends to defy the established gender assumptions of society as well as to attain further beneficial ways for women and men to co- exist(Seiler).† The Feminist Theory stress out that the domination of men considerably affects the women. It radically deafens the society about the contribution, roles, and values of the women that leads to the existence of gendered inequities that seems to inundate the cultural way of living. Critical theory recognizes that the ability to understand can lead a change while feminist theory, a philosophical approach of critical theory, sees that the means of thinking of feminine is different from the masculine. Critical Theory(2005). Seiler, R. M. Human Communication in the Critical Theory Tradition. Retrieved November 1, 2006, 2006, from http://www.ucalgary.ca/~rseiler/critical.htm

Social Injustice for African Americans in Toni Morrisons Novel, Jazz E

Social Injustice for African Americans in Toni Morrison's Novel, Jazz Jazz, a novel by Toni Morrison, explores many different aspects of African American life in the early part of the twentieth century. This novel tells a story of the difficulties faced by black families living in the United States. Toni Morrison describes in detail a few of the upsetting situations they had to face. She also subtly throughout the book places one or two lines that tell a tale of injustice. Jazz is a novel filled with many stories of inequality affecting the black community. One significant theme that is present throughout the story is the one of unequal rights for African Americans. One instance of social injustice is described in the very beginning of the novel when the reader first learns about Dorcas’ murder. The book explains that Alice knew she would get nowhere even if she chose to prosecute Joe, because lawyers could not help and cops would not help or even take a black on black crime seriously. Had Dorcas been a murdered white girl I am sure that Joe would have been thrown in jail t...

The Vampire Diaries: The Fury Chapter Six

â€Å"She's already made her choice. You saw it yourself when you ‘interrupted' us. You've already chosen, haven't you, Elena?† Stefan said it not smugly, or as a demand, but with a kind of desperate bravado. â€Å"I†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Elena looked up. â€Å"Stefan, I love you. But don't you understand, if I have a choice right now I have to choose for all of us to stay together. Just for now. Do you understand?† Seeing only stoniness in Stefan's face, she turned to Damon. â€Å"Do you?† â€Å"I think so.† He gave her a secret, possessive smile. â€Å"I told Stefan from the beginning that he was selfish not to share you. Brothers should share things, you know.† â€Å"That's not what I meant.† â€Å"Isn't it?† Damon smiled again. â€Å"No,† Stefan said. â€Å"I don't understand, and I don't see how you can ask me to work with him. He's evil, Elena. He kills for pleasure; he has no conscience at all. He doesn't care about Fell's Church; he said that himself. He's a monster-â€Å" â€Å"Right now he's being more cooperative than you are,† Elena said. She reached for Stefan's hand, searching for some way to get through to him. â€Å"Stefan, I need you. And we both need him. Can't you try to accept that?† When he didn't answer she added, â€Å"Stefan, do you really want to be mortal enemies with your brother forever?† â€Å"Do you really think he wants anything else?† Elena stared down at their joined hands, looking at the planes and curves and shadows. She didn't answer for a minute, and when she did it was very quietly. â€Å"He stopped me from killing you,† she said. She felt the flare of Stefan's defensive anger, then felt it slowly fade. Something like defeat crept through him, and he bowed his head. â€Å"That's true,† he said. â€Å"And, anyway, who am I to call him evil? What's he done that I haven't done myself?† We need to talk, Elena thought, hating this self-hatred of his. But this wasn't the time or place. â€Å"Then you do agree?† she said hesitantly. â€Å"Stefan, tell me what you're thinking.† â€Å"Right now I'm thinking that you always get your way. Because you always do, don't you, Elena?† Elena looked into his eyes, noticing how the pupils were dilated, so that only a ring of green iris showed around the edge. There was no longer anger there, but the tiredness and the bitterness remained. But I'm not just doing it for myself, she thought, thrusting out of her mind the sudden surge of self-doubt. I'll prove that to you, Stefan; you'll see. For once I'm not doing something for my own convenience. But I'm not just doing it for myself, she thought, thrusting out of her mind the sudden surge of self-doubt. I'll prove that to you, Stefan; you'll see. For once I'm not doing something for my own convenience. â€Å"Yes. I†¦ agree.† â€Å"And I agree,† said Damon, extending his own hand with exaggerated courtesy. He captured Elena's before she could say anything. â€Å"In fact, we all seem to be in a frenzy of pure agreement.† Don't, Elena thought, but at that moment, standing in the cool twilight of the choir loft, she felt that it was true, that they were all three connected, and in accord, and strong. Then Stefan pulled his hand away. In the silence that followed, Elena could hear the sounds outside and in the church below. There was still crying and the occasional shout, but the overall urgency was gone. Looking out the window, she saw people picking their way across the wet parking lot between the little groups that huddled over wounded victims. Dr. Feinberg was moving from island to island, apparently dispensing medical advice. The victims looked like survivors of a hurricane or earthquake. â€Å"No one is what they seem,† Elena said. â€Å"What?† â€Å"That's what Bonnie said during the memorial service. She had another one of her fits. I think it might be important.† She tried to put her thoughts in order. â€Å"I think there are people in town that we ought to look out for. Like Alaric Saltzman.† She told them, briefly, what she had overheard earlier that day in Alaric's house. â€Å"He's not what he seems, but I don't know exactly what he is. I think we should watch him. And since I obviously can't appear in public, you two are going to have to do it. But you can't let him suspect you know-† Elena broke off as Damon held up a hand swiftly. Down at the base of the stairs, a voice was calling. â€Å"Stefan? Are you up there?† And then, to someone else, â€Å"I thought I saw him go up here.† It sounded like Mr. Carson. â€Å"Go,† Elena hissed almost inaudibly to Stefan, â€Å"You have to be as normal as possible so you can stay here in Fell's Church. I'll be all right.† â€Å"But where will you go?† â€Å"To Meredith's. I'll explain later. Go on.† Stefan hesitated, and then started down the stairs, calling, â€Å"I'm coming.† Then he pulled back. â€Å"I'm not leaving you with him,† he said flatly. Elena threw her hands up in exasperation. â€Å"Then both of you go. You just agreed to work together; are you going to go back on your word now?† she added to Damon, who was looking unyielding himself. He gave another of his little shrugs. â€Å"All right. Just one thing-are you hungry?† â€Å"That's good. But later on, you will be. Remember that.† He crowded Stefan down the stairs, earning himself a searing look. But Elena heard Stefan's voice in her mind as they both disappeared. I'll come for you later. Wait for me. She wished she could answer with her own thoughts. She also noticed something. Stefan's mental voice was much weaker than it had been four days ago when he had been fighting his brother. Come to think of it, he hadn't been able to speak with his mind at all before the Founders' Day celebration. She'd been so confused when she woke up by the river that it hadn't occurred to her, but now she wondered. What had happened to make him so strong? And why was his strength fading now? Elena had time to think about it as she sat there in the deserted choir loft, while below the people left the church and outside the overcast skies slowly grew darker. She thought about Stefan, and about Damon, and she wondered if she had made the right choice. She'd vowed never to let them fight over her, but that vow was broken already. Was she crazy to try and make them live under a truce, even a temporary one? When the sky outside was uniformly black, she ventured down the stairs. The church was empty and echoing. She hadn't thought about how she would get out, but fortunately the side door was bolted only from the inside. She slipped out into the night gratefully. She hadn't realized how good it was to be outside and in the dark. Being inside buildings made her feel trapped, and daylight hurt her eyes. This was best, free and unfettered-and unseen. Her own senses rejoiced at the lush world around her. With the air so still, scents hung in the air for a long time, and she could smell a whole plethora of nocturnal creatures. A fox was scavenging in somebody's trash. Brown rats were chewing something in the bushes. Night moths were calling to one another with scent. She found it wasn't hard to get to Meredith's house undetected; people seemed to be staying inside. But once she got there, she stood looking up at the graceful farmhouse with the screened porch in dismay. She couldn't just walk up to the front door and knock. Was Meredith really expecting her? Wouldn't she be waiting outside if she were? Meredith was about to get a terrible shock if she weren't, Elena reflected, eyeing the distance to the roof of the porch. Meredith's bedroom window was above it and just around the corner. It would be a bit of a reach, but Elena thought she could make it. Getting onto the roof was easy; her fingers and bare toes found holds between the bricks and sent her sailing up. But leaning around the corner to look into Meredith's window was a strain. She blinked against the light that flooded out. Meredith was sitting on the edge of her bed, elbows on knees, staring at nothing. Every so often she ran a hand through her dark hair. A clock on the nightstand said Meredith was sitting on the edge of her bed, elbows on knees, staring at nothing. Every so often she ran a hand through her dark hair. A clock on the nightstand said Elena tapped on the window glass with her fingernails. Meredith jumped and looked the wrong way, toward the door. She stood up in a defensive crouch, clutching a throw pillow in one hand. When the door didn't open, she sidled a pace or two toward it, still in a defensive posture. â€Å"Who is it?† she said. Elena tapped on the glass again. Meredith spun to face the window, her breath coming fast. â€Å"Let me in,† said Elena. She didn't know if Meredith could hear her, so she mouthed it clearly. â€Å"Open the window.† Meredith, panting, looked around the room as if she expected someone to appear and help her. When no one did, she approached the window as if it were a dangerous animal. But she didn't open it. â€Å"Let me in,† Elena said again. Then she added impatiently, â€Å"If you didn't want me to come, why did you make an appointment with me?† She saw the change as Meredith's shoulders relaxed slightly. Slowly, with fingers that were unusually clumsy, Meredith opened the window and stood back. â€Å"Now ask me to come inside. Otherwise I can't. â€Å"Come†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Meredith's voice failed and she had to try again. â€Å"Come in,† she said. When Elena, wincing, had boosted herself over the sill and was flexing her cramped fingers, Meredith added almost dazedly, â€Å"It's got to be you. Nobody else gives orders like that.† â€Å"It's me,† Elena said. She stopped wringing out the cramps and looked into the eyes of her friend. â€Å"It really is me, Meredith,† she said. Meredith nodded and swallowed visibly. Right then what Elena would have liked most in the world would have been for the other girl to give her a hug. But Meredith wasn't much of the hugging type, and right now she was backing slowly away to sit on the bed again. â€Å"Sit down,† she said in an artificially calm voice. Elena pulled out the desk chair and unthinkingly took up the same position Meredith had been in before, elbows on knees, head down. Then she looked up. â€Å"How did you know?† â€Å"I†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Meredith just stared at her for a moment, then shook herself. â€Å"Well. You- your body was never found, of course. That was strange. And then those attacks on the old man and Vickie and Tanner-and Stefan and little things I'd put together about him-but I didn't know. Not for sure. Not until now.† She ended almost in a whisper. â€Å"Well, it was a good guess,† Elena said. She was trying to behave normally, but what was normal in this situation? Meredith was acting as if she could scarcely bear to look at her. It made Elena feel more lonely, more alone, than she could ever remember being in her life. â€Å"I asked Bonnie to come over at seven o'clock, if her mother would let her. It's probably her. I'll go see.† Meredith seemed almost indecently eager to get away. â€Å"Wait. Does she know?† â€Å"No†¦ Oh, you mean I should break it to her gently.† Meredith looked around the room again uncertainly, and Elena snapped on the little reading light by the bed. â€Å"Turn the room light off. It hurts my eyes anyway,† she said quietly. When Meredith did, the bedroom was dim enough that she could conceal herself in the shadows. Waiting for Meredith to return with Bonnie, she stood in a corner, hugging her elbows with her hands. Maybe it was a bad idea trying to get Meredith and Bonnie involved. If imperturbable Meredith couldn't handle the situation, what would Bonnie do? Meredith heralded their arrival by muttering over and over, â€Å"Don't scream now; don't scream,† as she bundled Bonnie across the threshold. â€Å"What's wrong with you? What are you doing?† Bonnie was gasping in return. â€Å"Let go of me. Do you know what I had to do to get my mother to let me out of the house tonight? She wants to take me to the hospital at Roanoke.† Meredith kicked the door shut. â€Å"Okay,† she said to Bonnie. â€Å"Now, you're going to see something that will†¦ well, it's going to be a shock. But you can't scream, do you understand me? I'll let go of you if you promise.† â€Å"It's too dark to see anything, and you're scaring me. What's wrong with you, Meredith? Oh, all right, I promise, but what are you talking-â€Å" â€Å"Elena,† said Meredith. Elena took it as an invitation and stepped forward. Bonnie's reaction wasn't what she expected. She frowned and leaned forward, peering in the dim light. When she saw Elena's form, she gasped. But then, as she stared at Elena's face, she clapped her hands together with a shriek of joy. â€Å"I knew it! I knew they were wrong! So there, Meredith-and you and Stefan thought you knew so much about drowning and all that. But I knew you were wrong! Oh, Elena, I missed you! Everyone's going to be so-â€Å" â€Å"Be quiet, Bonnie! Be quiet!† Meredith said urgently. â€Å"I told you not to scream. Listen, you idiot, do you think if Elena were really all right she'd be here in the middle of the night without anybody knowing about it?† â€Å"But she is all right; look at her. She's standing there. It is you, isn't it, Elena?† Bonnie started toward her, but Meredith grabbed her again. â€Å"Yes, it's me.† Elena had the strange feeling she'd wandered into a surreal comedy, maybe one written by Kafka, only she didn't know her lines. She didn't know what to say to Bonnie, who was looking rapturous. â€Å"What are you two being so mysterious for? She's here, but she's not all right. What's that supposed to mean?† Elena didn't know whether to laugh or cry. â€Å"Look, Bonnie†¦ oh, I don't know how to say this. Bonnie, did your psychic grandmother ever talk to you about vampires?† Silence fell, heavy as an ax. The minutes ticked by. Impossibly, Bonnie's eyes widened still further; then, they slid toward Meredith. There were several more minutes of silence, and then Bonnie shifted her weight toward the door. â€Å"Uh, look, you guys,† she said softly, â€Å"this is getting really weird. I mean, really, really, really†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Elena cast about in her mind. â€Å"You can look at my teeth,† she said. She pulled her upper lip back, poking at a canine with her finger. She felt the reflexive lengthening and sharpening, like a cat's claw lazily extending. Meredith came forward and looked and then looked away quickly. â€Å"I get the point,† she said, but in her voice there was none of the old wry pleasure in her own wit. â€Å"Bonnie, look,† she said. All the elation, all the excitement had drained out of Bonnie. She looked as if she were going to be sick. â€Å"No. I don't want to.† â€Å"You have to. You have to believe it, or we'll never get anywhere.† Meredith grappled a stiff and resisting Bonnie forward. â€Å"Open your eyes, you little twit. You're the one who loves all this supernatural stuff.† â€Å"I've changed my mind,† Bonnie said, almost sobbing. There was genuine hysteria in her tone. â€Å"Leave me alone, Meredith; I don't want to look.† She wrenched herself away. â€Å"You don't have to,† Elena whispered, stunned. Dismay pooled inside her, and tears flooded her eyes. â€Å"This was a bad idea, Meredith. I'll go away.† â€Å"No. Oh, don't.† Bonnie turned back as quickly as she'd whirled away and precipitated herself into Elena's arms. â€Å"I'm sorry, Elena; I'm sorry. I don't care what you are; I'm just glad you're back. It's been terrible without you.† She was sobbing now in earnest. The tears that wouldn't come when Elena had been with Stefan came now. She cried, holding on to Bonnie, feeling Meredith's arms go around both of them. They were all crying-Meredith silently, Bonnie noisily, and Elena herself with passionate intensity. She felt as if she were crying for everything that had happened to her, for everything she had lost, for all the loneliness and the fear and the pain. Eventually, they all ended up sitting on the floor, knee to knee, the way they had when they were kids at a sleepover making secret plans. â€Å"You're so brave,† Bonnie said to Elena, sniffling. â€Å"I don't see how you can be so brave about it.† â€Å"Your hands aren't cold.† Meredith squeezed Elena's fingers. â€Å"Just sort of cool. I thought they'd be colder.† â€Å"Stefan's hands aren't cold either,† Elena said, and she was about to go on, but Bonnie squeaked: â€Å"Stefan?† Meredith and Elena looked at her. â€Å"Be sensible, Bonnie. You don't get to be a vampire by yourself. Somebody has to make you one.† â€Å"But you mean Stefan . . . ? You mean he's a†¦ ?† Bonnie's voice choked off. â€Å"I think,† said Meredith, â€Å"that maybe this is the time to tell us the whole story, Elena. Like all those minor details you left out the last time we asked you for the whole story.† Elena nodded. â€Å"You're right. It's hard to explain, but I'll try.† She took a deep breath. â€Å"Bonnie, do you remember the first day of school? It was the first time I ever heard you make a prophecy. You looked into my palm and said I'd meet a boy, a dark boy, a stranger. And that he wasn't tall but that he had been once. Well†-she looked at Bonnie and then at Meredith-â€Å"Stefan's not really tall now. But he was once†¦ compared to other people in the fifteenth century.† Meredith nodded, but Bonnie made a faint sound and swayed backward, looking shell-shocked. â€Å"You mean-â€Å" â€Å"I mean he lived in Renaissance Italy, and the average person was shorter then. So Stefan looked taller by comparison. And, wait, before you pass out, here's something else you should know. Damon's his brother.† Meredith nodded again. â€Å"I figured something like that. But then why has Damon been saying he's a college student?† â€Å"They don't get along very well. For a long time, Stefan didn't even know Damon was in Fell's Church.† Elena faltered. She was verging on Stefan's private history, which she'd always felt was his secret to tell. But Meredith had been right; it was time to come out with the whole story. â€Å"Listen, it was like this,† she said. â€Å"Stefan and Damon were both in love with the same girl back in Renaissance Italy. She was from Germany, and her name was Katherine. The reason Stefan was avoiding me at the beginning of school was that I reminded him of her; she had blond hair and blue eyes, too. Oh, and this was her ring.† Elena let go of Meredith's hand and showed them the intricately carved golden circlet set with a single stone of lapis lazuli. â€Å"And the thing was that Katherine was a vampire. A guy named Klaus had made her one back in her village in Germany to save her from dying of her last illness. Stefan and Damon both knew this, but they didn't care. They asked her to choose between them the one she wanted to marry.† Elena stopped and gave a lopsided smile, thinking that Mr. Tanner had been right; history did repeat itself. She only hoped her story didn't end like Katherine's. â€Å"But she chose both of them. She exchanged blood with both of them, and she said they could all three be companions through eternity.† between them the one she wanted to marry.† Elena stopped and gave a lopsided smile, thinking that Mr. Tanner had been right; history did repeat itself. She only hoped her story didn't end like Katherine's. â€Å"But she chose both of them. She exchanged blood with both of them, and she said they could all three be companions through eternity.† â€Å"Sounds dumb,† said Meredith. â€Å"You got it,† Elena told her. â€Å"Katherine was sweet but not very bright. Stefan and Damon already didn't like each other. They told her she had to choose, that they wouldn't even think of sharing her. And she ran off crying. The next day-well, they found her body, or what was left of it. See, a vampire needs a talisman like this ring to go out in the sun without being killed. And Katherine went out in the sun and took hers off. She thought if she were out of the way, Damon and Stefan would be reconciled.† â€Å"Oh, my God, how ro-â€Å" â€Å"No, it isn't,† Elena cut Bonnie off savagely. â€Å"It's not romantic at all. Stefan's been living with the guilt ever since, and I think Damon has, too, although you'd never get him to admit it. And the immediate result was that they got a couple of swords and killed each other. Yes, killed. That's why they're vampires now, and that's why they hate each other so much. And that's why I'm probably crazy trying to get them to cooperate now.†

Research Aims and Objectives

The following research for consumer preference regarding the choice for a particular Bank in the United Kingdom is done with the aim to analyze the consumer mindset and preference when they make a choice for something so essential like a Bank to whom they handover their hard earned money to. The aim of the research is to determine what consumers want and what the usually preferable features in the Bank are. In order to do so, a sample of the population would be analyzed who would be representing the entire population.The objective of this particular research to identify the consumer demands and their preferable features would be the understanding of consumer psyche in order to be in a better position to be able to provide them with what they require. However, this would be the prime objective but the secondary objectives would be to discover the hidden factors that mostly people tend to forget while devising a Bank or its strategies. This research would also enable the person formula ting the strategy to have an insight to what consumer wants and requires of their efforts and endeavors.Apart from that, it is essential to conduct a research for what consumer wants rather than assuming their requirements and demands. This research would enable to actually find out that which strategies are to be continued by the Bank in the future while which strategies are meant for amendments or complete eradication. Not only banks, but any products or services that are highly dependent on consumer demand and preferences need to analyze their demands and choices before entering in the area to serve them.Hence, the primary Aim of the research is to determine the expectations and requirements of a customer from the place it entrusts its finances into. The objective is to make use of the research and make the result of the research the motive of existence. Rationale of the Research The rationale or the purpose of the research is to make sure that the consumers are receiving what th ey expect and require of the Banking services. It is to ensure that the current strategies adopted by the Banks in United Kingdom are appropriate or not. There are many sectors in which the Banking Industry of the United Kingdom is divided.The purpose of the research is to analyze the different customer present in each sector and the reason of their preference for a particular sector. The sectors for Banking Industry are Independent British Banks, British Banking Brands owned by British Companies, British Banking Brands owned by Foreign Companies, Foreign Banks in the United Kingdom and External Links. The Independent Banks in United Kingdom include HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays Bank, HBOS, Lloyds TSB, Standard Chartered, Alliance and Leicester, Northern Rock, Cooperative Bank and Bradford and Bingley.The amount of independent Banks is few in the United Kingdom as compared to other countries. The research would also enable us to understand as to whether consumers want more independent banks or not. Quite a lot of foreign banks are present in the United Kingdom as well which are ING Direct, Citibank and Bank of Cyprus. This research would also enable in understanding the reason of the presence of such humungous amount of foreign banks in the country.In London, there is an investment and commercial branch of almost every big Bank in the world. Hence, the purpose along with determining the consumer preference and demand is to determine the purpose of the existence of different sectors and the consumer’s take on these different sectors. The research conducted would help in dividing the preference according to the sector under review which would make it easier for the Banks in different sectors to extract knowledge of their requirement. Theoretical UnderpinningSeveral theories were evaluated to determine which would be best to analyze consumer behavior and their reason to choose a particular Bank for their transactions and activities. The major cate gory which it was divided into was ‘Qualitative research’ as it had to do with consumer preferences and hence could not be quantified into any numbers. It would deal with qualitative data like questionnaires, Focus Group and In-depth Interviews. However under Qualitative research is further divided into three more types which include Positivists, Interpretive and Critical.The positivists takes the society at its face value and assumes that everything portrayed is for real and true, the interpretive assumes that the situation changes and so does human behavior as per the situation while on the contrary the critical approach takes a critical perspective on the society and everything present in the social reality is historically present and created by human minds so nothing is for real but a creation of people’s mind. The method that would be taken use of in this research would be the ‘Interpretive Research’ because it takes the most reasonable and rati onal approach to the data available in the social reality.As the primary data collected in a qualitative research is highly subject to personal views, therefore it is very important to take a rational approach on the analysis of data and its interpretation. For this kind of research theory, the most important aspect is the interpretation of the collected data as it is difficult to analyze the in-depth interviews and focus groups because of the presence of no right and wrong in the approach as it is highly dependent on human views and method of interpretation. Hence, the theoretical approach used is ‘Interpretive Qualitative Research Methodology’.Methodology Research Approach The research would be highly dependent on the data collected via primary as well as secondary sources. Since, the entire research is to determine human psyche and preferences therefore nothing can be assumed and neither is anything pre-determined. The data however would be achieved through primary s ources via Focus Groups, In-depth Interviews, Questionnaire and Surveys as well secondary sources such as Internet sources, Journals, Articles, Past Researches, Magazines, and Books etc.The theory that is used as a methodology is as defined the Qualitative Interpretive method as the data received would be either the feedback from the customers or the secondary published resources. The data interpretation is where the methodology or the theory of the research would be utilized. The focus groups would be analyzed based on people’s verbal reactions as well as their attitude and gestures and so will be the In-depth interview which would be a one-to-one interaction with the consumer. However, the answers of the questionnaire would have to be quantified and displayed via graph to display the inclination of the answers.The research methodology used would be ‘Relational’, this is because one factor of the research would be analyzed as to whether it depends on the other o r not. For example, if consumers prefer on-the-go Automated Teller Machine (ATM) Service then is it because of the low savings and high expenditures of the people in the United Kingdom. The relational approach would also help in analyzing and explaining the reason of several factors and demands by the target consumers of the Banks in the United Kingdom.It would be helpful in explaining a lot of consumer preferences and would be better in understanding the logic behind the Human Psyche. Research Strategy The research strategy has several steps which are being followed in the conducted research. It started of with defining a title for the research which was finalized to be stated as ‘How the people choose in U. K which bank to patronize? ’ After that came the step to analyze the background data which would be partially collected via primary sources as well as secondary published sources.The primary sources as mentioned would be the Qualitative Research tools such as the F ocus Groups, Surveys and Interviews while the secondary sources would be the publishes material in the form of either past Researches in the relevant field, articles, journals or magazines. In order to get hold of the relevant sources several catalogs have been searches and the internet has been browsed in order to come up with as authentic and relevant material as possible. Even the internet sources that are being analyzed are the published authentic ones and not just the random material present.After the collection of data, it was critically analyzed to remove all loop holes from the procedures and find reliable material from which the research can take constructive help from in order to make it as productive as possible. The next step of defining the citation style has been done with utmost care keeping the professionalism and the research relevance in mind. Therefore, the citation style used in this research is Harvard style of referencing. The material used in the literature re view and the entire research would be cited in the Harvard style of citation and so would be the in-text citation.The Harvard style has a professional work procedure and cites the work in an appropriate manner for the reader to understand where the work is taken from and along with that helps in giving the original idea provider the due importance by mentioning and recognizing their efforts. The strategy adopted in the process of the research has to be clear and defined in order to follow a research process that has a vivid objective and is able to reach its motives effectively and efficiently. Primary Data and Secondary Data CollectionThe primary data will be collected with the qualitative tools such as the †¢ In-Depth Interview: The one-to-one interviews with the few selected customers who would be questioned in detail and would have the option of answering open ended in order to gather the most data possible and then extract the one relevant. Along with the information the i nterviewee would also be analyzed of his/her gestures and body language. Hence, this would help in providing a deep insight in the consumers mind and preferences.†¢ Focus Group: This would be a method for a group of customers to express their opinion on a platform provided. Several minds when act together would give a clear view of what majority of the customers think. However, there are certain pitfalls to this procedure as well which would be tried and avoided as much as possible. †¢ Questionnaires: These are the only tools in the qualitative method that can be quantified and does not entirely depend on interpretation.The questionnaires would mostly contain close ended questions as the open ended ones would be there in the focus groups as well as the in-depth interviews of the customers. †¢ Surveys: As per this method, the customers in each sector would be randomly surveyed for their opinions and suggestion to improve the Banking service in the country. Hence, all t he above mentioned primary data collected would not only help in devising as to what customers prefer but also would provide with a solution and recommend possible outcomes.The secondary sources would be from published sources. In order to analyze the scenario of Multinational Banks in the United Kingdom, the book by Geoffrey Jones (1993) is used for referencing which present the scenario of international Banks in the United Kingdom’s market. Presenting the scenario it states â€Å"the leaders were five large American Banks which dominated the process of syndicated sovereign loans as they sought to achieve an accelerated growth of their assets. They pursued lending strategies that emphasized wide margins and large volumes of loans.† (Jones, 1993, p. 352). Another book by Francesca Carnevali called as the ‘Europe’s Advantage: Banks and Small Firms in Britain, France, Germany and Italy since 1918’ talks about the importance of small Banks. In the rese arch the customer of small banks would also be a subject therefore this book would be of high importance as its states â€Å"small firms are part of local economies. These can be defined simply and loosely as spaces where most local saving found their way to local financial intermediaries and then back into the local economy† (Carnevali, 2005, pp. 2-3).In order to understand the Human psyche as well as competing for customer the help of a book called ‘Competing for Customers and Capital’ by Victor J. Cook Junior (2006). It talks about the competitive cut-throat environment that today every field has including products as well as services and bridges the gap between the marketing and the finance areas. It is also helpful for those who aspire to be the upper level management as it enables the reader to understand the consumer psyche and the reason behind their preferences. A very important book that is used in the literature as a reference is a book by John R.Weeks called the ‘Unpopular Culture: The Ritual of Complaint in a British Bank’ (2003). It talks about how unsatisfied culture of the employees spreads a negative energy in the entire organization and it effects on the performance of the employees which ultimately affects the customer service and produces unsatisfied customers. Book which talks about the history of the Banking Industry in the United Kingdom and the changing and evolutionary trends is a book by Ronald Myles Fitzmaurice (1975) called ‘British banks and banking: A pictorial history’.In order to understand British banking history and how it dealt with crisis in the past, a book by William Frazer (2000) is used called as ‘Central Banking, Crises, and Global Economy’ which states that â€Å"Governments in crises should not be surprised, however, when aid and coordinated private-sector support packages are extended on condition that problem-causing traditions and practices be changed† (Frazer, 2000, p. 315). Along with that the news article by Steve Pain (2000) indicates the importance of customers in the generation of profits by the banks.Hence, the satisfaction of the customers is of utmost importance and therefore they need to be given special attention to. Their needs and requirements have to be identified in order to be in a better position to provide them with better service which is up to their mark. Some companies or banks even misuse their customers by getting them into trouble so that they force them into calling the call center as â€Å"BANKS and power companies have been accused of making big money out of customers who ring their call centers† (Poulter, 2005, p.6). Hence, there are all kinds of business running around the world and in order to have healthy business one needs to get rid of these unethical tactics. Data Analysis As mentioned above, the data collected through primary means as well as secondary means would be critically analyzed to ensure their importance in the research and to determine whether they are being utilized efficiently or not. However, due recognition would be given to any data that has been extracted from other sources and is not achieved via primary method.The entire data collected would not be used but only the important and highly relevant portions would be selected to gain knowledge from and cite in the original research. The data would relate to the original topic as to what are the criteria of the customers when choosing a Bank in the United Kingdom. Anticipated Limitations Despite the best of efforts there are certain limitations that would be faced by the people conducting the research which are as follows;†¢ Time Constraint: Although there my be a lot of time available but for the research of such magnitude there is no sufficient time as with new time new data arises which can be incorporated as well. So time acts as one of the constraints. †¢ Monetary Constraints: Due to th e status of being students, there are certain financial limitations that have to be abided by, hence acting as constraints as there is not a sufficient or unlimited flow of funds.†¢ Knowledge: Although a lot of background research would be done and plenty of material would be read to make this research as authentic as possible but still there is some knowledge that would be unattained. Hence, that unattained knowledge would act as a constraint for further depth in the research. †¢ Secondary Data: The presence of secondary data regarding the given topic is scarce and hence proper information of several fields cannot be gathered which is a constraint for the production of an excellent research. Ethical ConsiderationsThe first and the foremost consideration as per the ethical boundaries would be the due recognition of the material or data taken from other authors by books, articles and journals. If they are not acknowledged, it would be included as plagiarism rather than help from various outside sources. Apart from that, what needs to be taken care of is that none of the Banks or financial institutions is allegedly claimed for poor performance. In short, there should be no incorrect data; all the data should have a back support to it in order to provide the proof of its authenticity.One thing that is often ignored by the researchers is the pre-developed biasness or prejudice. A personal experience or a past knowledge may lead the researcher to have a pre-conceived notion regarding a certain factor. This makes the entire research to be less authentic as its starts to involve personal opinion rather than rational views. For instance, in this case the researcher might have had a bad past experience with a bank and may prolong that biasness into the research making it less objective.Hence, in order for the research to be carried out in an ethical manner, all these ethical concerns have to be taken into account. Otherwise all the effort done by the research er may result to be void. Conclusion The following research would be carried out with the Harvard style citation and the methodology would be ‘qualitative interpretive’ method. The primary sources of data would be the qualitative tools which include In-Depth Interviews, Surveys, Questionnaire and Focus group.The ethical constraints would be followed to make sure that the research is highly objective without the involvement of any plagiarism, incorrect information or personal biasness or prejudice. Hence, the research would follow all the pre-determined set patterns of following a research with a research theory and methodology. Although there are slight constraints which would act as a hurdle in the way but it would be made sure that it doesn’t have a drastic impact on the research.The hypothesis of the research would conclude as to what are the primary, secondary and involuntary (hidden) reasons for customers to choose a particular Bank in the United Kingdom. Bi bliography Jones, G. (1993). British Multinational Banking 1830-1990. Oxford University Press. ISBN 019820602X. Carnevali, F. (2005). Europe’s Advantage: Banks and Small Firms in Britain, France, Germany and Italy since 1918. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0199257396. Cook, V. (2006). Competing for Customers and Capital. South-Western Educational Pub. First Edition. ISBN-10: 0324405979.ISBN-13: 978-0324405972. United States of America. Crawfordsville. Weeks, J. R. (2003). Unpopular Culture: The Ritual of Complaint in a British Bank. University Of Chicago Press. ISBN-10: 0226878120. ISBN-13: 978-0226878126. United States of America. Fitzmaurice, R. M. (1975). British banks and banking: A pictorial history. Barton. ISBN-10: 0851531547. ISBN-13: 978-0851531540. Frazer, W. (2000). Central Banking, Crises, and Global Economy. Praeger Publishers. Westport, CT, London, United Kingdom. Pain, S. (2000). Customers Co-operate in Bank's Profits Boost. The Birmingham Post. 19.

Author Eric Barnes on Publishing and Post-Apocalyptic Fiction

Author Eric Barnes on Publishing and Post-Apocalyptic Fiction Youd think that ones post as the CEO of several major metropolitan newspapers throughout Tennessee, and author of multiple science fiction novels, would make the road to publishing an easy one. But Eric Barnes, host of Behind the Headlines on WKNO TV and author of four novels, including his most recently published post-Apocalyptic foray, Above the Ether, admits that its a little more complicated than that. Heres his advice for how writers can navigate the labyrinthine terrain of publishing without giving up, selling out, or letting rejection letters be the final word.Author Eric Barnes. Photo by Andrew BreigTonya: Our readers are a mix of indie authors and authors who have gone through more traditional publishing houses. What is your advice about the publishing process (either indie or traditional or both) from your experience?Eric: For the kind of novels I write, the publishing process is, to say the least, difficult. Its slow-moving and convoluted. Thats not a criticism of the publ ishers whove published my books. Its simply a comment on the reality of a very complicated business that has been in the midst of massive change for a few decades now.First there was the rise of big, corporate publisher, which bought up and combined many of the long-time independent publishing houses. Then there was the rise of massive chain bookstores like Borders and Barnes Noble. That was followed by the arrival of Amazon, a disruption that only continues as readers shift to e-readers even as independent bookstores increasingly find ways to thrive.In the midst of that, there are so many writers throwing so many manuscripts at a shrinking number of publishers who have a dramatically smaller universe of stores in which to sell those books.And meanwhile, the very process of assessing a manuscript is mind-blowingly slow. For fiction of some level of seriousness – I hate the term literary fiction but thats all there is – theres no way to fairly assess a manuscript with( out) spending quite a bit of time on it. Put another way, it takes hours (sometimes many, many hours) to read a book, no matter how quick a reader you are.Thats even before you get to the incredible cost involved in editing, designing, printing, distributing and selling a book.The process, in other words, is a labyrinth. Its slow, by necessity. And its all built on a business model that leaves little room for error.Tonya: Where did you get the idea for your newest book, Above the Ether, and how long did it take you to write it?Eric: The idea for Above the Ether came from my previous novel, The City Where We Once Lived, which is about a city thats been abandoned and the few thousand people who have chosen to live there. The city in that novel has been devastated not by a plague or some virus, but by bad decisions, inattention, abandonment. All animals have fled, all the plants and trees have died.The main character in City assumes that everyone, everywhere lives with this sort of dea th of plants and animals. But toward the end of the novel, a new person comes to the city. And, very offhandedly, he tells the main character why hes fled his home and come to this city.The animals that left this place, they didnt all just die. They went to other places. Like the city we are from. Huge packs of dogs. Feral cats. The failed efforts of the city to wipe them out with poison, so many dead animals that they had to leave carcasses in piles on corners and overflowing from dumpsters and still the animals roamed the street.The City Where We Once Lived by Eric BarnesAnd so I decided I wanted to write a book about that other city, and other cities and places like it, that were going through some kind of slow-motion disaster. Again, not plagues or runaway viruses or zombie apocalypses – just places dealing with the everyday decisions that we make or are made for us.Tonya: A lot of successful authors have a daily word count goal or specific method of getting a book writte n. Do you have either? What does a typical writing session look like for you?Eric: I need to write every day to be effective. I cant wait till I feel the inspiration. I have to schedule regular time, consistency, in order to be writing frequently enough that Im either at my desk when I feel inspired or the consistency itself generates more and more inspiration.Because of this, if I know I wont be able to write tomorrow, I will struggle to write today. Because if I cant write tomorrow, but todays writing goes badly, I will be incredibly frustrated.The reality, of course, is that I cant write every day. So I try to find stretches of time – 2 weeks or 4 weeks or sometimes as many as 6 weeks – where Ill be able to write for at least an hour most every day. That way I feel like Ill have some consistency, a routine, that I can rely on when writing goes badly. Which it does.I dont set a word count, just this goal of building a routine, but I do count words. I might write 100 words, I might write 1,500. But the goal is to write consistently.Also, I mostly write in the morning, usually from 5:30 to 7:30, then Ill read and edit what Ive written in the evening.Tonya: As CEO of several newspapers, you obviously have other obligations beyond writing novels. What is your advice for authors struggling to get a novel written when it isnt their primary occupation?Eric: It can be a nightmare. Writing is time-consuming and, at its worst, maddeningly frustrating. For me, I just have to be hyper-scheduled – down to the hour and minute of the day – as far as when I write, when I parent, when I see friends, and so on. Its hard on the people around you. You just have to accept that, as do they.The economic reality is that, for what I write (and, honestly, for what most fiction writers do), its exceedingly difficult to make a living off of novels. For many years, this meant I was personally at war with the two sides of my life – my writing life, and my day job. That wasnt healthy. Over time, I found a way devote enough time to both that they coexist much better.Tonya: What is it about the post-apoc/dystopian subgenre of Science Fiction that fascinates you most and do you have any favorite authors who write it?Eric: I grew up reading a lot – almost all – of Kurt Vonneguts novels and non-fiction. I loved how he could circle into and around science fiction, even as he was writing painful, funny, beautiful and deeply serious books. But I also read a lot of serious, entirely real fiction that I wanted to emulate, especially work by Raymond Carver, Richard Ford and others.But then there were three books I read over a number of years – For the Time Being by Annie Dillard, and Cormac McCarthys Blood Meridien and The Road – and I started wanting to write differently. Id always like complicated, multi-character narratives. My first two novels, Shimmer and, especially, Something Pretty, Something Beautiful, bot h had multiple narrators and a way that I could use the multiple narrators to shift time and place.Now I wanted to write with more unreal elements. More that was made up.With both The City Where We Once Lived and Above the Ether, though, what I did not want to do is write post-apocalyptic novels where thered been some sort of war or plague. Not that theres anything wrong with doing that, I just felt like, first, that had been done. And second, I wanted to shine more light and attention on decisions we make now and the outcomes of those decisions.Tonya: Do you have any specific advice for a writer interested in publishing in the post-apoc/dystopian subgenre? Is there any trope thats been overdone or any new slant publishers are looking for?Eric: I really dont know what advice Id give. For better and worse, Im not a writer who can write toward what publishers want or need. I have to write a story that interests me, which means taking a massive risk on whether that novel will also be o f interest to a publisher. Twice, Ive misfired and written novels that ultimately didnt get published. But I dont regret writing those manuscripts. Had I not written them, I wouldnt have written the ones that followed.

Mount Wilson Observatory

Mount Wilson Observatory High in the San Gabriel mountains, north of the busy Los Angeles basin, the telescopes at the Mount Wilson Observatory have been watching the skies for more than a century. Through its venerable instruments, astronomers have made discoveries that have changed humanitys understanding of the universe. Fast Facts: Mount Wilson Observatory Mount Wilson Observatory has four telescopes, three solar towers, and four interferometer arrays. The largest telescope is the 100-inch Hooker Telescope.One of the most important discoveries made at Mount Wilson in its early years was by Edwin P. Hubble. He found that the Andromeda Nebula is actually a separate galaxy.The CHARA Array on Mount Wilson was used in 2013 to detect starspots on the star Zeta Andromedae, and in 2007, it made the first measurement of the angular diameter of a planet around another star. Today, Mount Wilson remains one of the premier observatories in the world, despite the incursions of light pollution that threaten its clear views of the sky. It is run by the Mount Wilson Institute, which took over the administration of the observatory after Carnegie Institution for Science planned to shut it down in 1984. The site has been kept open and running again since the mid-1990s. Mount Wilson and Observatory ridge aerial photo. Doc Searls, CC BY 2.0   History of Mount Wilson Observatory Mount Wilson Observatory was built on the 1,740-meter tall Mount Wilson (named for the early settler Benjamin Wilson). It was founded by George Ellery Hale, a solar astronomer devoted to studying and understanding sunspots, and was also one of the key people involved in building telescopes in the early 20th century. He brought the 60-inch Hale reflecting telescope to Mount Wilson, followed by the 100-inch Hooker telescope. He also built a 200-inch telescope at nearby Palomar Mountain, south of Los Angeles. It was Hales work that eventually inspired Griffith J. Griffith to give money for the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. The observatory at Mount Wilson was originally built with funding by the Carnegie Institution of Washington. In more recent times, it has received funding from universities. It also solicits support from the public in the form of donations for the continued operation of the facilities.   The 100-inch Hooker telescope, once the largest in the world. It is still in use today. Ken Spencer, CC BY-SA 3.0   Challenges and Telescopes Building world-class telescopes atop the mountain posed a number of challenges for the observatorys founders.  Access to the mountain was limited by the rough roads and even rougher terrain. Still, a consortium of people from Harvard, University of Southern California, and Carnegie Institutions began to work on building the observatory. Two telescopes, a 40-inch Alvan Clark instrument, and a 13-inch refractor were ordered for the new site. Harvard astronomers began using the observatory in the late 1880s. Encroaching tourists and the owners of the land made things difficult, and for a time the observatory site shut down. The planned 40-inch telescope was diverted for use at the Yerkes Observatory in Illinois.   Eventually, Hale and others decided to return to Mount Wilson to build new telescopes there. Hale wanted to do stellar spectroscopy as part of new advances in astronomy. After much back-and-forth and negotiations, Hale signed a contract to lease 40 acres at the top of Mount Wilson to build an observatory. In particular, he wanted to create a solar observatory there. It took several years, but eventually, four great telescopes, including the world’s largest solar and stellar instruments, would get built on the mountain. Using those facilities, astronomers such as Edwin Hubble made significant discoveries about stars and galaxies.   The Original Mount Wilson Telescopes The Mount Wilson telescopes were behemoths to build and transport up the mountain. Since few vehicles could make the drive, Hale had to rely on horse-drawn carriages to bring up the mirrors and equipment needed. The result of all the hard work was the building of the Snow Solar Telescope, which was the first one to be installed on the mountain. Joining it was the 60-foot solar tower, and then a 150-foot solar tower. For non-solar viewing, the observatory built the 60-inch Hale Telescope, and then finally the 100-inch Hooker Telescope. The Hooker held the record for many years as the worlds largest telescope until the 200-inch was built at Palomar.   The Hale telescope being transported up to the summit of Mount Wilson. Public domain.  Ã‚   Current Instruments Mount Wilson Observatory eventually gained several solar telescopes over the years. It has also added instruments such as the Infrared Spatial Interferometer. This array gives astronomers another way to study infrared radiation from celestial objects. In addition, there are two stellar interferometers, a 61-cm telescope, and the Caltech Infrared Telescope are also in use on the mountain. In 2004, Georgia State University built an optical interferometer called the CHARA Array (named for the Center for Angular Resolution Astronomy). Its one of the most powerful instruments of its kind.   The top of the solar tower on Mount Wilson.   Dave Foc, CC BY-SA 3.0.   Each piece of the Mount Wilson Observatory collection is equipped with state-of-the-art CCD cameras, detector arrays, and spectrometers and spectrographs. All these instruments help astronomers record the observations, create images, and dissect the light that streams from distant objects in the cosmos.  In addition, to help correct for atmospheric conditions, the 60-inch telescope has been outfitted with adaptive optics that allow it to get sharper images. Notable Observations at Mount Wilson Not long after the largest telescopes were built, astronomers began flocking to use them. In particular, astronomer Edwin P. Hubble used the Hooker to peer out at distant objects that were (at the time) called spiral nebulae.  It was at Mount Wilson that he made his famous observations of Cepheid variable stars in the Andromeda nebula, and concluded that this object was really a distant and distinct galaxy. That discovery in the Andromeda Galaxy shook the foundations of astronomy. Then, a few years later, Hubble and his assistant, Milton Humason, made further observations that proved the universe is expanding. These observations formed the basis of the modern study of cosmology: the origin and evolution of the universe. Its views of the expanding universe have informed cosmologys constant search for an understanding of such events as the Big Bang.   Edwin P. Hubble, the astronomer who used the Mount Wilson 100-inch telescope to observe distant galaxies. His work led to the discovery of the expanding universe. Public domain   Mount Wilson Observatory has also been used to look for evidence of such things as dark matter, by astronomer Fritz Zwicky, and further work on the different types of stellar populations by Walter Baade. The question of dark matter has been studied by other astronomers as well, including the late Vera Rubin. Some of astronomys most prominent names have used this facility over the years, including Margaret Harwood, Alan Sandage, and many others. Its still heavily used today and allows remote access to observers from around the world.   Dr. Vera Cooper Rubin in 1970, working on measuring galaxy rotation rates. Vera Rubin Mount Wilson in the Public Eye The administration of Mount Wilson Observatory is also dedicated to public outreach and education. To that end, the 60-inch telescope is used for educational observing. The grounds of the observatory are open to visitors, and there are weekend observing sessions and tours available as the weather permits. Hollywood has used Mount Wilson for a filming location, and the world has watched several times via Webcam as the observatory was threatened by wildfires. Sources â€Å"CHARA - Home.† Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy, www.chara.gsu.edu/.Collins, Marvin. â€Å"Benjamins Mountain.† Broadcast History, www.oldradio.com/archives/stations/LA/mtwilson1.htm.â€Å"Mount Wilson Observatory.† Atlas Obscura, Atlas Obscura, 15 Jan. 2014, www.atlasobscura.com/places/mount-wilson-observatory.â€Å"Mount Wilson Observatory.† Mount Wilson Observatory, www.mtwilson.edu/.

Analysis of the story Revelation by Flannery O'Connor where you argue Essay

Analysis of the story Revelation by Flannery O'Connor where you argue a theme - Essay Example This conversation, which is in the form of a rude question, reproduces Mrs. Turpins self-absorbed nature. It is expected of a Christian to be polite and patient when talking to other people regardless of their race, age, and tribe. The character that Mrs. Turpin reveals is that of rudeness and racism. Rather than Mrs. Turpin having a concern for the girls fitness, she is absorbed on how the girls whereabouts and attitude reveal about her. In another angle, it also infers that Mrs. Turpin distinguishes Mary Graces union and closeness to God in that instant they converse (OConnor 15). This informs a reader of the story that indeed Mrs. Turpin deserves a good revelation which she is given, though it is unusual and not to her surprise she expected. These words motivate Mrs. Turpins need for a revelation at the conclusion of the story, when she realizes herself, Claud, and those of the same socioeconomic rank bringing up the rearmost of the march to Heaven. Although they are saved, they need follow persons whom Mrs. Turpin has well-thought-out to be beneath her. The young girl’s eyes are important as signs of her ruling of Mrs. Turpin and of her capability to communicate a holy message from God. The fat young girl as described in the story has violent eyes that resemble "alternately to smoulder and to blaze." When Grace begins to be impatient with her own mother and with the rude Mrs. Turpin, she bangs her book and stares fiercely at Mrs. Turpin. The writer puts it that the girl’s eyes "seemed peculiar light, an unnatural light similar night road signs give." This contrast to road signs is the foretelling that there is a serious event that will take place. The sentence also contrasts Grace’s eyes with the girls potential to send a crucial message and that guides a revelation to Mrs. Turpin. As Mrs. Turpin is seated and thinking about the hopelessness of helping patients, for example, whom she calls â€Å"the white-trash woman,† Mary Graces eyes

The Help Fictional Story Movie Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Help Fictional Story Movie Analysis - Essay Example Despite the difficulties the maids face at the hands of their racist employers, they are so remorseful and take good care of their employers’ children. In fact, the maids are portrayed as so loving to the employers’ children despite the harsh treatments they get from their bosses. Despite being looked down upon by their employers, the maids transform the life of a young white woman by empowering her to write a novel about them. Several themes emerge from the movie some of which include love, racial intolerance, class, and gender. Although the film is based on the Jim Crow era when America was deeply divided along racial line, love features prominently in the film. For instance, although the maids live with abusive employers, they show a lot of love to the children that they take care of. In real life, I have experienced what love can do in the midst of hatred and discrimination. In certain parts of Florida, I have noticed that people’s attitudes toward people of color, Blacks especially, are quite negative. It is not uncommon for one to hear a white expressing his/her dislike for blacks in subtle ways. While some people of color may opt to counter such attitudes and sentiments with negative words, others have taken to ignoring the negative attitudes, instead of countering them with love. From experience, I have realized that the persistent sharing of love with potential adversaries has a huge positive impact. Those who hate their others gradually change their negative attitudes when they are proven to be wrong through acts of love. The film is based mainly on the racism that was being practiced in America in the 1950s. In this regard, the movie tells of how the black maids are abused by their white employers who appears not to appreciate what they do.  

Working with and leading people Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 2

Working with and leading people - Essay Example His recruits learnt to support each other during difficult times; it was a lesson on showing concern for one’s teammate. This is a depiction of the principle stage of Tuckman’s Teamwork Theory which discusses the formulation of the team. This is a stage where each individual is trying to find his/her role in the team, they are sizing each other up and there are cases of doubt to one’s purpose (Tuckman Bruce, 1965) Oliver tasked the recruits with challenging assignments like working night shifts at the bakery. Knowing the difficulty level of his challenge, he appeared for some of the shifts and he worked alongside his recruits. At the end of the training they were expected to work together as a team in a commercial kitchen, they therefore had to develop a sense of devotion towards each other. To foster this devotion, Oliver took his recruits for camping activities and later on he tested them by taking them through a simulation test. They were tasked with the duty of preparing meals for fifty clients. The purpose of the simulation was to see how they worked under pressure. This was in line with Tuckman’s second stage theory which is the Storming. At this level they have started seeing themselves as a team however, this stage is characterized by confrontations and various levels of conflict. This is expected due to the pressure put on them by Oliver. As per the expectations, some of them crumbled when the scene got chaotic. This was however, part of the team building process. At the end of the training, the recruits were assured of a job working for Oliver. They therefore had an end in mind. This sense of purpose according to Dr. Belbin, M. 2014 is the motivator for teamwork. Oliver demonstrated participative leadership when he engaged with his recruits in their daily tasks, when he helped them solve problems that occurred at the ground level. His hands on approach was in line with the Participative Leadership Theory which

High Fracture Toughness of Al2O3-TiN0.3 Composites

High Fracture Toughness of Al2O3-TiN0.3 Composites High fracture toughness of Al2O3-TiN0.3 composites prepared via spark plasma sintering Lina Qiaoa, b, Yucheng Zhaoa, Mingzhi Wanga, à ¯Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ ºÃƒ ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ªÃƒ ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ , Yana Yea, Junxing Zhanga, Qin Zoua, Qian Yanga, Hua Dengc, Ying Xingc Abstract Al2O3–TiN0.3 composites with different TiN0.3 contents were spark plasma sintered at 1300–1600  °C for 10 min. Phase identification was characterized through X-ray diffraction. Microstructures were observed using a scanning electron microscope. The fracture toughness of the composite with 30 vol% TiN0.3 sintered at 1500  °C reaches to the highest value of 6.91 MPa m1/2. Based on the first-principles density functional theory, the density of states for TiN and TiNx was calculated. The covalent bonding is weakened and the metallic bonding is strengthened as the nitrogen concentration is reduced in nonstoichiometric TiNx. The active slip systems determined by covalent bonding for the nitrides are possibly increased by adding nonstoichiometric TiN0.3, which improves the fracture toughness of Al2O3-based composites. Keywords: Al2O3–TiN0.3 composites;Fracture toughness; Slip system; Bond calculation 1. Introduction Alumina (Al2O3) ceramics are essential structural materials, but the inherent brittleness has inhibited their applications [1, 2]. The fracture toughness can be improved substantially by adding a secondary reinforcing phase into the matrix. The effects of TiN particles on the mechanical properties of Al2O3-based composites have been widely studied [3–9]. Shen et al. [9] reported that the fracture toughness of Al2O3–TiN composites prepared via spark plasma sintering (SPS) at 1500  °C reaches to a maximum value of 5.7 MPa m1/2. Li et al. [1] studied the mechanical properties of TiN–Al2O3 nanocomposites prepared by hot pressing at 1550  °C, and pointed out that the highest fracture toughness is 5.27 MPa m1/2. However, there have been few reports about the effects of nonstoichiometric TiN0.3 on the fracture toughness of Al2O3-based composites. In this study, nonstoichiometricTiN0.3 was added into Al2O3 matrix, and the effects of TiN0.3 on the mechanical properties (especially fracture toughness) of the composites were discussed. Nonstoichiometric TiN0.3 synthesized via mechanical alloying (MA) possesses fine grain size and TiN-type structure with numerous N vacancies [10, 11], which are conducive to improving sinterability [11–14]. Furthermore, weakening covalent bond and strengthening metallic bond in TiN0.3 structure [15, 16] may have an important influence on the fracture toughness. This study aims to verify whether or not adding nonstoichiometric materials can increase the fracture toughness of Al2O3-based composites. 2. Experimental Raw materials used include TiN0.3 synthesized through MA [10, 11] and commercial powders Al2O3 (analytically pure, an average particle size of 1 ÃŽ ¼m). Powder mixtures were milled for 2 h in absolute ethanol using WC milling media on a Pulverisette 4 Vario-Planetary Mill (FRTSCH German) at 300 rpm. SPS (3.20 MK-IV, Sumitomo Coal Mining Co., Ltd.) was performed in vacuum (6Ãâ€"10−3 Pa) at different heat treatment temperatures (1300–1600  °C) for 10min at 30 MPa. The heating rate was 100  °C/min. The temperature was determined using an optical pyrometer focused on the non-through hole located on the surface of the graphite die. Phase identification was performed through X-ray diffraction (XRD) with Cu KÃŽ ± radiation by using a D/MAX-2500PC diffractometer (Rigaku). Microstructures of the specimen’s polished surface and fracture cross-sections were observed using an S-3400N (Hitachis) scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with electron back-scattered diffraction (Edax-Tsl, Ametek). The bending strength was measured with Instron-5848 MicroTester (America) using the three point bending test with a span length of 13 mm and crosshead speed of 0.5 mm/min. Fracture toughness was determined through the Vickers indentation method proposed by Anstis et. al [17]. Measurements of the hardness and fracture toughness were conducted using an FM-700 Vickers hardness tester (Future-Tech, Japan) by indentation using a pyramidal indenter and applying a 10 kg load for 10 s. 3. Results 3.1 XRD identification and morphology observation Fig. 1 shows the XRD patterns of Al2O3–30 vol% TiN0.3 composite sintered via SPS at different temperatures in vacuum (6Ãâ€"103 Pa) for 10 min. Only TiN0.3 and ÃŽ ±-Al2O3 phases are detected in the XRD patterns. It suggests that no chemical reaction occurs between the second phase and the matrix. Fig. 2 shows the back-scattered SEM micrograph of the polished surface of Al2O3–30 vol% TiN0.3 composite sintered via SPS at 1400  °C in vacuum (6Ãâ€"103 Pa) for 10 min. The gray grains are Al2O3, while the white ones are TiN0.3. TiN0.3 grains are uniformly dispersed in Al2O3 matrix. Fig. 3 shows the microstructure of the fracture cross-sections of Al2O3–30 vol% TiN0.3 composite sintered via SPS at different temperatures in vacuum (6Ãâ€"103 Pa) for 10 min. When the sintering temperature is raised to 1400  °C, the grain size of the composite is fine and approximately 2 ÃŽ ¼m for Al2O3; the fracture mode is mainly intergranular (Fig. 3 b). Then the gains grew obviously with further raising the sintering temperature, here ~3-4 ÃŽ ¼m at 1500  °C and ~4-5 ÃŽ ¼m at 1600  °C for Al2O3; the fracture modes are intergranular and transgranular (Fig. 3 c and d). In addition, Al2O3–30 vol% TiN0.3 composite has not reached full density at 1300  °C, as indicated both by the SEM observations (Fig. 3) and measured hardness values (Fig. 5). Fig. 4 shows the microstructure of the fracture cross-sections of Al2O3–TiN0.3 composites with different TiN0.3 contents sintered via SPS at 1400  °C in vacuum (6Ãâ€"103 Pa) for 10 min. The grain size of Al2O3 existed in all samples does not change significantly. It is not agreement with the previous study that the addition of TiN effectively inhibits the grain growth of Al2O3 [9]. This phenomenon may be attributed to the fact that Al2O3–TiN0.3 composites have good sinterability. In addition, the fracture morphology is influenced by TiN0.3 content in these samples. The fracture mode of Al2O3–TiN0.3 composites with TiN0.3 contents from 10 vol% to 30 vol% (Fig. 4 a–c) is mainly intergranular. But, the fracture modes of Al2O3–TiN0.3 composite with 40 vol% TiN0.3 (Fig. 4 d) are intergranular and transgranular. The explanation for the fracture mode change is that the grain boundaries in Al2O3–TiN0.3 composites are strengthened, inhibiting inter granular crack propagation. 3.2 Mechanical properties Fig. 5 a shows the Vickers hardness of Al2O3–30 vol% TiN0.3 composite sintered at different temperatures. The Vickers hardness of Al2O3–30 vol% TiN0.3 composite sintered at 1400  °C reaches to the highest value of 18.75 GPa, then slightly reduces with raising the sintering temperature, which is due to grain growth [9, 18, 19] (Fig. 3 b-d). Fig. 5 b shows the Vickers hardness of Al2O3–TiN0.3 composites sintered at 1400  °C versus TiN0.3 content. The Vickers hardness of Al2O3–TiN0.3 composites with different TiN0.3 contents from 10 vol% to 40 vol% reaches to a range of 17–19 GPa, which is no significant difference from that of pure Al2O3 and close to that of Al2O3–TiN nanocomposites [1]. Fig. 6 shows the bending strength of Al2O3–TiN0.3 composites sintered at 1400  °C versus TiN0.3 content. The bending strength of Al2O3–TiN0.3 composites sintered at 1400  °C increases with increasing TiN0.3 contents from 10 vol% to 40 vol%, and is higher than that of Al2O3 ceramics. As adding TiN0.3 into Al2O3 matrix, the microstructure is improved and the grain boundaries are strengthened, which lead to an increase in the bending strength of Al2O3–TiN0.3 composites. The fracture toughness of the composite with 30 vol% TiN0.3 sintered at 1500  °C reaches to the highest value of 6.91 MPa m1/2, as shown in Fig. 5 a, which is much higher than that of nano- or micron-sized Al2O3–TiN composites [1, 4, 5, 9, 20]. And the fracture toughness of the composites sintered at 1400  °C increases with the addition of TiN0.3, and presents a maximum value of 6.60 MPa m1/2 at 30 vol% TiN0.3, then decreases with further increasing the amount of TiN0.3, as shown in Fig. 5 b. These results are in agreement with previous studies [1, 4, 5, 9, 20]. For particulate reinforced composites, many toughening mechanisms such as crack pinning, microcrack toughening, crack deflection, residual stress toughening and crack bridging have been proposed. For TiN–Al2O3 composites, Li et al. [1] reported that possible toughening mechanisms are crack deflections and/ or crack pinning; Shen et al. [9] pointed out that the predominating toughening mechanism is related to crack tilting and twisting caused by thermal expansion and/ or elastic modulus mismatch stresses. It is difficult to indicate a prevailing toughening mechanism. In this research, maybe some of these toughening mechanisms are active at the same time. Nonetheless, due to structure defect, TiN0.3 may have an important influence on the fracture toughness. It will be discussed subsequently in more detail. 4. Discussion The above experimental results suggest that adding a nonstoichiometric TiN0.3 phase is more effective for improving the fracture toughness of Al2O3-based composites. To explain the phenomenon, based on the first-principles density functional theory [15, 16, 21], the density of states (DOS) for TiN and TiNx was calculated, as shown in Fig 7. Close to the Fermi level, the DOS for TiN consists of hybridized Ti-3d and N-2p states, as shown in Fig. 7. It can be seen that the DOS for TiN at the Fermi level is not at the minimum and mainly dominated by Ti-3d states. This is an evidence that the cohesion in TiN is a complex mixture of covalent, ionic (a little) and metallic types. The new structures in the DOS for TiNx near the Fermi level can clearly be seen in Fig. 7, which are called ‘vacancy state associated structures’ [15, 16]. It can be explained by symmetry changes resulting from the vacancy sites in the lattice. Titanium atoms are completely equivalent in a perfect stoichiometric rocksalt structure. But, in a nonstoichiometric structure, both Ti neighboring levels of symmetry interact together through a vacancy (symbolized by à ¢- ¡) to establish a Ti–à ¢- ¡Ã¢â‚¬â€œTi bond which is absent in the stoichiometric titanium compound. In other words, the covalent bonding is weakened and the metallic bonding is strengthened as the nitrogen concentration is reduced in nonstoichiometric TiNx, which are indicated by the peaks observed near the Fermi level on the DOS curves in Fig. 7 and in accordance with Refs. [15, 16]. Al2O3 is a kind of brittle material due to the lack of active slip system essentially. The active slip systems determined by covalent bonding for the nitrides can be increased by adding a nonstoichiometric material. Rowcliffe et al. [22] had reported that TiC has the {111} 0> slip system at high temperature and the {110} 0> slip system at room temperature. The root cause of the change of the slip systems is that the cohesion in TiC is a complex mixture of covalent, ionic (a little) and metallic types. At low temperature, the bonding is covalent with strong, directional bonding between neighboring carbon and metal atoms; as the temperature is raised, electrons are transferred from these bonds into less localized metallic states. Such a transfer has the effect of reducing both the directionality and strength of the bonds. They also pointed out that the covalent contribution to bonding becomes less as the carbon concentration in nonstoichiometric TiCx decreases [20]. TiC and TiN crystals belong to the same space group (FM-3M, cubic system) and the atomic radii of C and N are closed. It is inferred that TiN (or TiNx) has the similar slip system. Same as previous analysis, the nitrogen concentration in TiN0.3 is very low, which leads to weakening covalent bond and strengthening metallic bond. Maybe the {111} 0> slip system, or some of it, is active at room temperature. In other words, there may be more active slip systems at room temperature in Al2O3–TiN0.3 composites. This is a major reason for the improvement of the fracture toughness of Al2O3–TiN0.3 composites. 4. Conclusions This paper introduces a new and effective method to improve the fracture toughness of Al2O3-based composites by adding a nonstoichiometric material. Al2O3–TiN0.3 composites were prepared via SPS at a relatively low temperature. The fracture toughness and bending strength of the composites have been greatly improved and the hardness is almost identical to that of Al2O3 matrix. Based on the first-principles density functional theory, the DOS for TiN and TiNx was calculated. The covalent bonding is weakened and the metallic bonding is strengthened as the nitrogen concentration is reduced in nonstoichiometric TiNx. The active slip systems determined by covalent bonding for the nitrides are possibly increased by adding nonstoichiometric TiN0.3, which improves the fracture toughness of Al2O3-based composites. Acknowledgments The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from Key Laboratory of Metastable Materials Science and Technology, the Science and Technology Foundation of Hebei (E2012203116), the Key Item of Education Department of Hebei (ZH2012003), Synergy Innovation Plan Project of College of Mechanical Engineering (JX2014-3), and Heavy Machinery Synergy Innovation Plan Project (ZX01-20140100-01). References [1] Jingguo Li, Lian Gao, Jingkun Guo. Mechanical properties and electrical conductivity of TiN–Al2O3 nanocomposites. J. Eur. Ceram. Soc. 2003; 23: 74-6. [2] Songlin Ran, Lian Gao. Electrical properties and microstructural evolution of ZrO2–Al2O3–TiN nanocomposites prepared by spark plasma sintering. Ceram. Int. 2012; 38: 4928-6. [3] Bellosi A., Guicciardi S., Tampieri A.. 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Soc. 1976; 59 (7-8): 372-2. [20] Egawa T., Ichikizaki T., Tsukamoto H., Tsunoda H., Shimoyama T.. Material characteristics and cutting performance of TiN–Al2O3 ceramic tool. Int. J. Jpn. Soc. Precis. Eng. 1995; 29 (3): 228-7. [21] Y. Yang, H. Lu, C. Yu, J.M. Chen. First-principles calculations of mechanical properties of TiC and TiN. J. Alloys Compd. 2009; 485: 547-6. [22] R. H. J. Hannink, D. L. Kohlstedt, M. J. Murray. Slip system determination in cubic carbides by hardness anisotropy. ProcRoy Soc. 1972; 326 A (1566): 420-12. Figure captions Fig. 1 X-ray diffraction patterns of Al2O3–30 vol% TiN0.3 composite sintered via SPS at different temperatures in vacuum (6Ãâ€"103 Pa) for 10 min. Fig. 2 Back-scattered SEM micrograph of polished surface of Al2O3–30 vol% TiN0.3 composite sintered via SPS at 1400  °C in vacuum (6Ãâ€"103 Pa) for 10 min. Fig. 3 SEM micrographs of fracture cross-sections of Al2O3–30 vol.% TiN0.3 composite sintered via SPS at different temperatures in vacuum (6Ãâ€"103 Pa) for 10 min: (a) 1300  °C; (b) 1400  °C; (c) 1500  °C; (d) 1600  °C. Fig. 4 SEM micrographs of fracture cross-sections of the composites sintered via SPS at 1400  °C in vacuum (6Ãâ€"103 Pa) for 10 min: (a) Al2O3–10 vol% TiN0.3; (b) Al2O3–20 vol% TiN0.3; (c) Al2O3–30 vol% TiN0.3; (d) Al2O3–40 vol% TiN0.3. Fig. 5 Vickers hardness and fracture toughness of (a) Al2O3–30 vol% TiN0.3 composite versus sintering temperature; (b) Al2O3–TiN0.3 composites sintered at 1400  °C versus TiN0.3 content. Fig. 6 Bending strength of Al2O3–TiN0.3 composites sintered at 1400  °C versus TiN0.3 content. Fig. 7 Density of states for TiN and TiNx. à ¯Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ ºÃƒ ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ªÃƒ ¯Ã‚ Ã‚  Corresponding author. Tel (fax): 086-0335-8061671; E-mail: [emailprotected] Supported by the Hebei Province Scientific Committee of China (Nos. E2012203116, ZH2012003, JX2014-3 and ZX01-20140100-01).