Religious Ideologies And Practices Behind Buddhism

Throughout my time in school and growing up in a religiously diverse community in Queens, NY, I have been exposed to numerous belief systems. These experiences have allowed me to stay open-minded and interested to learn about other cultures and ways of life. One particular religion that I did not consider myself well versed with was Buddhism. From my previous encounters with this religion, I had learned that its teachings embody the idea of karma and rebirth. As means to broaden my knowledge and learn more about the religious ideologies and practices behind Buddhism, I spoke with Professor Ann Burlein of the Religion and Philosophy Department. I had originally planned to attend Professor Burlein’s Buddhism in America class, but due to time conflicts I resorted to meet with her outside of the classroom environment. At the beginning of our conversation, she first introduced me to some of the core fundamentals revolving Buddhism, which are acceptance of impermanence, suffering an d unseparated self. She explained that in Buddhism, one of the most powerful and practical means of reaching this acceptance was through mindful meditation. I personally could relate to her description about mediation because it is also heavily valued in Sikhism. As Buddhists use meditation to achieve a certain mental outlook, Sikhs also use it as means to control our thoughts and ultimately keep our mind from wandering. Understanding the fundamentals behind Buddhism had already allowed me to draw aShow MoreRelatedBuddhism, Christianity, And The Prospects For World Religion1392 Words   |  6 PagesBuddhism, Christianity, and the Prospects for World Religion: Criticism on Dalai Lama’s Interview by Jose Ignacio Cabezon Introduction Born in China, Dalai Lama who originally was called Tenzin Gyatso was the spiritual leader of Tibet. He reined this region from 1950 after being declared the spiritual leader in 1937. His advocacy was for non-violent liberation and this made him earn a Nobel Prize in 1989. The objective of this paper is to offer a detailed analysis and criticism of the response ofRead More Buddhism Essay1168 Words   |  5 Pagesand India this is everyday life as a Buddhist. Buddhism revolves around a strict code of daily rituals and meditations. To an outsider they can seem mystical or even odd, but these are the paths to enlightenment and spiritual salvation. 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Despite the fact that many tend to consider Dalai Lama as a pluralist, this work will argue that DalaiRead MoreInfluence of Religion1056 Words   |  5 Pagesinterested in looking at the relationship between religious involvement and human behavior, a study on protestant Ethnic and the Spirit of Capitalism in Weber 1958. The study documented how Protestan tism, Calvinist theology, it helped foster a ideology and orientation that led to the legit ionization of the capitalist made of production in the west. The study used data from the 1993/94, Demographic an health survey to explore interrelationship between religious affiliation and women’s educational attainmentRead MoreThe Importance Of Nonverbal Communication1194 Words   |  5 Pagesothers. They have a tendency to talk around the point they are trying to make and let the listener deduce the point they are trying to make in the conversation. 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Instead of having offspring thatRead MoreThe Death Of Siddhartha Gautama1017 Words   |  5 PagesWhen an average person thinks of Siddhartha Gautama, they often link the religious figure with someone who achieved happiness through various forms of mediation. These generalizations are often fueled by artistic illustrations of the Buddha, which, almost universally, depict him sitting in the Lotus Position. While the religion of Buddhism has deep roots in various forms of meditation, there is not a cut and dry method for an individual to obtain the highest of Buddhist goals, freedom from sufferingRead MoreIslamic E xtremism And Religious Extremism1655 Words   |  7 Pagesunfortunately become very prevalent in the world today. This can be seen through the many political and religious groups that misinterpret information and act off of their own beliefs in an attempt to practise a more radicalised version of their faith. While fundamentalism and extremism are possible in every belief and position one holds, religious extremism has become much more common in the present day. Religious groups across the world have been forming terrorist organizations as a means of using violenceRead MoreDoes Religion Cause War?1463 Words   |  6 PagesDoes religion cause war? Every culture and society in the world has some form of religion. The most popular religions in the world today are Christianity, Buddhism, and the Muslim religions. Other religious sects exist amongst distinct groups. Every religion has some form of philosophy or ideology followed by members. One common thing about the existing religions is the presence of a supreme being. The Supreme Being exists in many names with different abilities depending on every religion. TheRead MoreThe Work Definitions Of Religion2779 Words   |  12 Pagesspecific examination of Buddhism and Confucianism, the following definition establishes a working definition of religion. Religion acts as a moldable cultural system of actions and beliefs that shape a collective perspective among individuals. Thus, religion has the power to cultivate self-enlightenment and produce change within an individual. The line between what is religious from what is not religious can be adequately defined by examining whether or not the supposed religious action, belief, object

John Hume s Bundle View Of The Soul - 1241 Words

I grew up with a Catholic family and went to church every Sunday and I was taught everyone had a soul and it was the basis for every human being. The soul is what makes someone a person and it’s what separates us from non-living beings. As I grew up, I started to be less religious and started believing in science and factual based knowledge yet I still always believed in the soul. When you grow up your whole life being told a certain thing it’s hard to shake the idea of it not being true. It wasn’t until we started to talk about the different views of the self that I started to think maybe the soul isn’t what makes a person a person. It can’t be seen, it can’t be touched and we can’t tell if anyone even has a soul. There is no evidence†¦show more content†¦For one, that God created the Earth and all living things on Earth. I believe in facts and evidence and when I started to learn about the big bang theory, I questioned my Ca tholic upbringing. One thing I never really questioned or thought about being false was the soul topic. I did question if there was a heaven for our souls to travel to when we died but I never thought for once that the soul didn’t exist and that it wasn’t what made me a person. I thought my soul was my personality and my mind and it was what made me who I am. When we started to go over the different views of what the self was, for the first time I started to think that maybe I have been wrong all along and the soul isn’t what makes me or anyone else a person. For the first time I started to see flaws in the soul view. For one, you can’t see a soul, you can’t touch it, and you can’t feel, taste or smell it. A soul isn’t detected with the basic senses so how do we even know it’s there? I always answered this with my belief in the soul. People can’t do any of those things with God and they still believe in Him so just becau se there’s no way of knowing if the soul exists it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Then, however, we started talking about what if everyone’s soul is changing and every day you have a new soul. I actually never thought of this myself and I couldn’t come up with any reasonable response. At this point I started to wonder if my soul is changing every second then what makes me who I

Employment and Autonomy free essay sample

What seems the main source of conflict between supervisors and the HR department at Sands Corporation? Main source of conflict between supervisors and the HR department at Sands Corporation are: * HR department ranks applicant based on test scores or other criteria and because of that, often people do not get along well with supervisor and co-worker. * Excellent performers are leaving because of HR department do not pay the exceeding pay rises even though they able to perform well. * Take very long time to do paperwork on hiring new employees and cause the company loses good candidates. Training is just a waste of time and money because it doesn’t build anything. * Supervisors are afraid to be truthful in their performance rating for fear of being investigated by the HR department. * Attitude survey data are broken down by department. The HR department will scrutinizes department with low scores. * The HR department director rejects all of these accusations and does not paying attention to what of being said or what they see form employees. We will write a custom essay sample on Employment and Autonomy or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page 2. Do you believe that managers should be given more autonomy to make personnel decisions such as hiring, appraising, and compensating subordinates? If so, what are some potential drawbacks to granting them this authority? Autonomy is the degree to which a job provides an employee with the discretion and independence to schedule their work and determine how it is to be done. Higher levels of autonomy on the job have been shown to increase job satisfaction, and in some cases, motivation to perform the job. In traditional organizations, only those employees at higher levels had autonomy. However, new organizational structures, such as flatter organizations, have resulted in increased autonomy at lower levels. Additionally, many companies now make use of autonomous work teams. Autonomy in the workplace can have benefits for employees, teams, managers, and the company as a whole, but it also may have drawbacks. Information regarding both the pros and cons of autonomy for these groups is discussed below. Managers tend to have increased autonomy in organizations that are more decentralized. In such organizations, managers have more freedom to make decisions regarding the work of employees and even personnel decisions. For example, managers with increased autonomy may be able to assign merit raises to the employees in their unit at their discretion. As with employee autonomy, this freedom can result in feelings of motivation and satisfaction for the manager, who may be in a better position to reward and motivate employees. However, as with employee autonomy, managers who have autonomy may not be equipped to handle it. If managers make poor decisions, this may be harmful to employees and the organization as a whole. Using the example of autonomy in deciding pay raises, a manager may give merit pay increases that are significantly higher than those in other work units, which may cause problems across the organization. 3. How should Sands’ top executives deal with the complaints expressed by supervisors? How should the director of the HR department deal with the situation? All types of dissatisfaction are important for the management to uncover and act upon. Companies that manage complaints effectively not only can boost employee morale and satisfaction, but also may benefit from the information gained through employee feedback. Being open to both positive and constructive feedback and providing employees with multiple options for sharing their concerns are best practices for managing complaints effectively. Welcoming Employee Complaints Employers and managers who view complaints as gifts can establish trusting relationships with employees that lead to loyalty and productivity. The complaints are there whether managers hear about them or not. Actively seeking feedbackeven constructive feedbackcan help get issues out in the open and lead to process improvements and other changes that can positively impact the workplace. Failing to Act Sometimes an employee will bring a complaint to a manager but they doesnt really want the manager to do anything about it. The managers job is to investigate, follow up and attempt to resolve employee complaints. Employees should know that if they raise an issue, it will be investigated. In addition, managers must be sure to thoroughly document the complaint, the investigation and the resolution. Supervisors Should Not be Only Choice Many organizations policy manuals or employee handbooks advise employees to go to their immediate supervisors with complaints. Supervisors should not be the only option for employees because the supervisor may be the problem. Employers should offer employees options when it comes to filing complaints. These can include the supervisor, the human resources department or others complaint channel. Document and Follow Up Managers should document employee complaints and any actions taken. In addition, they should schedule a follow-up discussion with the employee to assess progress. Companies that have HR departments can benefit from the involvement of HR professionals in these discussions. In addition, tracking the source and type of employee complaints received can provide indications of areas of opportunity for improvement that might include training for supervisors and managers or process improvements.

The Methods of Measuring Intelligence and Its Theories

The articles that have been chosen are related to various aspects of intelligence testing. In particular, they can be used to discuss different theoretical assumptions that underlie the methods of measuring intelligence. It is possible to identify several theories that still remain rather influential. First of all, one can speak about Charles Spearman’s theory of general intelligence.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Methods of Measuring Intelligence and Its Theories specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This framework is based on the premise that there is a strong relation between various cognitive skills (Harrison and Brand, 2003, p. 9). Moreover, this model implies that it is possible to assess the general intelligence of an individual by using the methods of statistical analysis (Harrison and Brand, 2003, p. 9). In this case, one should pay attention to the so-called g factor that can throw light on the cognitive skills of a person (Harrison and Brand, 2003, p. 9). It is possible to say that Charles Spearman’s theory contributed to the development of various intelligence tests that are often used by educators (Harrison and Brand, 2003). To a great extent, it still remains influential. Nevertheless, there are some researchers who critique the validity of this concept because modern methods of intelligence testing are limited since they are oriented towards the quantitative aspects of cognitive skills. In other cases, this theory cannot be effectively applied. Yet, it is also possible to speak about the theory of multiple intelligences which was introduced by Howard Gardner. This framework implies that psychologists should not focus only on those aspects of intelligence that can be easily quantified (Eisner, 2004). In this case, one can speak primarily about the tests measure the ability of a person to solve abstract problems. This is one of the limitations that can be conside red. In turn, such an approach can give only a very narrow idea of what intelligence is (Eisner, 2004). In contrast, according to the approach developed by Howard Gardner, that intelligence includes various modalities or domains that are relatively independent of one another (Eisner, 2004, p.33). For example, one can speak about the so-called bodily-kinesthetic intelligence which is related to a person’s ability to control the movement of one’s body. This ability is critical if one speaks about athletes. However, it is not identified in any of the existing IQ tests. Overall, the importance of this theory is recognized by psychologists since they understand the limitations of existing intelligence tests. Nevertheless, this approach also has significant limitations. In particular, it is difficult to falsify it or find examples that can prove or disprove this model. This is another detail that should be taken into consideration by psychologists. Nonetheless, Howard Gardne r’s model is useful since it helps psychologists to re-evaluate the methods that they use. Moreover, it has changed the way in which educators perceive the very notion of intelligence.Advertising Looking for essay on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More To a great extent, these articles can throw light on the efficiency of intelligence testing. In particular, researchers acknowledge that existing methods still require elaboration (Sparrow\ Davis, 2000). It is necessary to design task that help psychologists objective assess different cognitive skills. Nevertheless, one can say that that this form of measurement is a good predictor of how the student can perform in various professional or academic areas. For instance, it is possible to speak about the ability of an individual to solve mathematical problems. There are numerous IQ tests that can be used by various professionals such as educators or HR professionals. Moreover, these techniques can helpful for identifying possible developmental problems at an early stage. This is why it is not permissible to dismiss the techniques of measuring intelligence. These are some of the main points that can be made. Nevertheless, it is also important to remember that there are some important elements of intelligence that cannot be accurately measured. For instance, one can speak about such an aspect as emotional and interpersonal intelligence. They are related to the ability of a person to empathize with other people and understand their feelings. Currently, there are no tests that enable psychologists to evaluate these aspects of intelligence in a quantitative way. However, these skills are essential for the development of a person. Additionally, the validity of such tests depends on the clarity of instructions. Furthermore, psychologists should make allowances for a person’s linguistic capacity. If these requirements are not met, the accuracy o f these methods can be questioned. This is one of the major shortcomings that should be considered by researchers. On the whole, this discussion shows that intelligence testing is critical for psychologists and educators. There are certain cognitive abilities that can be accurately evaluated in a quantitative way. Nevertheless, one should not suppose that modern methods of intelligence testing can accurately assess every component that can be related to intelligence. More importantly, one should not overlook the cultural and linguistic background of a person who takes an IQ test; otherwise, the results of the assessment may not be accurate. These are the main arguments that can be put forward. Reference List Eisner, E. (2004). Multiple Intelligences: Its Tensions and Possibilities. Teachers  College Record 106(1), 31-39.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Methods of Measuring Intelligence and Its Theories specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/p age Learn More Harrison, K. Brand, C. The importance of Spearman’s g as a psychometric concept. The Occidental Quarterly, 3 (1), 7-30. Sparrow, S., Davis, S. (2000). Recent Advances in the Assessment of Intelligence and Cognition. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 41 (1), 117-131. This essay on The Methods of Measuring Intelligence and Its Theories was written and submitted by user Kyr0n to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Free Essays on Hospitality

The Breakers At he beginning of the semester when the term project was assigned I knew right away what resort I was going to pick. I chose The Breakers at Palm Beach Florida because I have very good memories with my family at this property. So I called the hotel and ask for brochures and whatever additional information they could send me. Less than one week later I had all of the information I needed and I will be presenting it to you in the next few pages. Henry Morrison Flagler built a hotel â€Å"The Palm Beach Inn† on the beach front portion of the Royal Poinciana’s property (one of his fist hotels). The Palm Beach Inn, which opened on January 16, 1896, was fully booked for most of that season because it was smaller and quieter than the vast Royal Poinciana and because if overlooked the Atlantic Ocean. Instead of asking for rooms at the Royal Poinciana, many regular Palm Beach guest asked for rooms â€Å"over by the breakers.† The name stuck. When Flagler doubled the size of the Palm beach Inn for the 1901 season, he renamed it the Breakers. On June 9, 1903, as workers were enlarging the wood building for the fourth time in less than decade, The Breakers burned down. The seventy three year old Flagler was shocked by the loss of his favorite hotel but definitely not beaten. Two weeks later he announced that The Breakers would not only be rebuilt but also would open for the upcoming winter season! On February 1, 1904, The Breakers reopened to universal acclaim. The new Breakers, a rambling four-story, colonial-style building constructed entirely of wood, contained 425 rooms and suites. Rooms started at four dollars a night, including three meals a day. As did its predecessor’s, The Breakers guest register real line a â€Å"who’s who† of early twentieth-century America: various Rockefellers, William Randolph Hearts; the five-and dime kigs W.T Grant and J.C. Penney; an even assorted European nobility and U.... Free Essays on Hospitality Free Essays on Hospitality The Breakers At he beginning of the semester when the term project was assigned I knew right away what resort I was going to pick. I chose The Breakers at Palm Beach Florida because I have very good memories with my family at this property. So I called the hotel and ask for brochures and whatever additional information they could send me. Less than one week later I had all of the information I needed and I will be presenting it to you in the next few pages. Henry Morrison Flagler built a hotel â€Å"The Palm Beach Inn† on the beach front portion of the Royal Poinciana’s property (one of his fist hotels). The Palm Beach Inn, which opened on January 16, 1896, was fully booked for most of that season because it was smaller and quieter than the vast Royal Poinciana and because if overlooked the Atlantic Ocean. Instead of asking for rooms at the Royal Poinciana, many regular Palm Beach guest asked for rooms â€Å"over by the breakers.† The name stuck. When Flagler doubled the size of the Palm beach Inn for the 1901 season, he renamed it the Breakers. On June 9, 1903, as workers were enlarging the wood building for the fourth time in less than decade, The Breakers burned down. The seventy three year old Flagler was shocked by the loss of his favorite hotel but definitely not beaten. Two weeks later he announced that The Breakers would not only be rebuilt but also would open for the upcoming winter season! On February 1, 1904, The Breakers reopened to universal acclaim. The new Breakers, a rambling four-story, colonial-style building constructed entirely of wood, contained 425 rooms and suites. Rooms started at four dollars a night, including three meals a day. As did its predecessor’s, The Breakers guest register real line a â€Å"who’s who† of early twentieth-century America: various Rockefellers, William Randolph Hearts; the five-and dime kigs W.T Grant and J.C. Penney; an even assorted European nobility and U....

German Story Sandskulpturen Is Great Language Prep

German Story 'Sandskulpturen' Is Great Language Prep One of the best ways to study German- or any foreign language for that matter- is to simply wade into a story and try to translate it. So, grab a good German dictionary, a strong Tasse Kaffee (cup of coffee) and a pencil and paper, and situate yourself in a quiet spot, such as your Kà ¼chentisch (kitchen table) or a Bibliothek (library). Then try your hand at translating this brief story. First, read this short story in German, about a trip to the beach and sandcastles, and then check your comprehension against the English translation that follows.   Sandskulpturen Story Text This brief story is from Quizlet, a student-and-teacher online learning community that provides free and fee-based learning tools and information. Es war ein super-schwà ¼ler Tag. Wir konnten die Hitze kaum ertragen und entschlossen uns deshalb zum Strand zu gehen. Wir haben den richtigen Samstag gewhlt, denn es gab ein Sandskulpturen-Wettbewerb bei dem Strand. Was fà ¼r tolle Kreationen! Das linke Foto ist eine Sandskulptur von einem Amateur und das rechte von einem Profi. Diese Skulpturen waren so unheimlich detailliert und haben zirka vier Tage gedauert zu bauen. Ich habe auch probiert etwas aus dem Sand zu schaffen, aber anstatt ein Kunstwerk, sah meine Skulptur mehr wie einen Sandberg aus. Wenn ihr wirklich Sandmeisterwerke sehen wollt, dann besucht diese Webseite, Wenn Profis Sandburgen bauen, die das grà ¶ÃƒÅ¸te Sandskulpturenfestival in Deutschland beschreibt. English Translation   Some of the translation of the above story is not literal. The phrasing has been changed where needed to enhance the flow of these passages. It was a super-sultry day. We could barely stand the heat and decided to go to the beach. We chose the right Saturday because there was a sand sculpture contest at the beach. What great creations! The photo to the left is a sand sculpture made by an amateur and to the right by a professional. These sculptures were so incredibly detailed and took around four days to build. I also tried to make something out of sand  but instead of a piece of art, but my sculpture looked like nothing more than a mountain of sand. If you really want to see sand masterpieces, visit this website, Wenn Profis Sandburgen bauen (When Professionals Build Sandcastles),  which describe the largest sand sculpture festival in Germany.

Write article pitch Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Write article pitch - Essay Example The research basically aimed at knowing the attitude of Americans and what they think would characterize future innovations that they mostly see in science fiction movies. The findings of the research were interesting. While most people generally considered technological innovations in the next half of the century to be beneficial, 59% thought that human life will be impacted in a very positive manner while 30% think that the technological advancement will lead to more social negatively impacted population than it is today (Haller 7). Many Americans believe that scientific revolution will impact medicine in a very positive way, such as growth of custom organs in the lab, scientists will be able to predict, change and control the weather patterns and also do a lot of space explorations to discover the possibility of life on other planets (Haller 6). 8. There has been the controversial issue of the probability to come up with designer babies who are genetically altered DNA to produce smarter an intelligent person. Will parents accept this to be done to their

State-Church Issues in the Film Boenhoffer Dissertation

State-Church Issues in the Film Boenhoffer - Dissertation Example The paper "State-Church Issues in the Film Boenhoffer" identifies similar conflicts between the politics of the state and personal religious belief. The paper also discusses if in the film "Boenhoffer" given the odious nature of the Nazi regime the decision by Boenhoffer to resist the state is unlikely to be questioned or criticized.Bonhoeffer's do not resemble the religious and political extremists of the Middle East because his actions were aimed at ending an authoritarian rule as opposed to the Middle East Extremists who fight religion and extend the fight to the Christian related political ideologies. Adolf Hitler is known in history for murdering people, Jews, but the Middle East extremists fight the Christian ideologies that have never claimed lives like the Hitler’s regime. Therefore, Bonhoeffer's actions are not similar to the Middle East extremists of political insurgency.It is permissible to break the law when a political regime does not respect humanity and uses an authoritarian rule like the Adolf Hitler case. On the other hand, it is permissible to break the rule when the pursuance of religious scruples serves to protect human rights and as such, is directed towards denouncing inhumane acts. However, the danger of such sacrifices may result in severe penalties in the case of Bonhoeffer's prosecution and can comprise an individual’s personal liberty through imprisonment. The Gestapo used the statement to accuse Bonhoeffer of going against his religious belief.

University of Dallas Education Essay Example for Free

University of Dallas Education Essay In attending the University of Dallas, I expect to broaden my views in the understanding that I currently have of my community and the world I live in. In obtaining an education at this University, I am opening my mind to gain an understanding to all that there is here to take in and understand. I expect to gain the knowledge and skills that will help me to succeed for the rest of my life from my university education here. I expect to graduate and earn a higher income, become a more skilled professional, be prepared for more job opportunities and reach a higher potential for myself than had I not attended the University of Dallas. I expect to gain an increased quality of life from the education I receive here, like mentioned in the following information from an educational site: â€Å"Children of college-educated parents are more likely to graduate from high school and continue onto college; they are more likely to have higher cognitive development; and sons and daughters of college educated mothers and fathers are considerably less likely to become unmarried teen parents† (Benefits, 2007). I expect to gain the knowledge and skills training, education from the program that I am in to graduate and be prepared to work in the field I am preparing to go into. But most of all, I expect to gain from my education from University of Dallas what I put into it. I know that an education of and in itself is not a magic pill to anything. However, by applying myself as well as I can in all of my classes and in all of the coursework I take here, I expect from my University of Dallas education the extent to which I put into it . Reference Benefits of College. Retrieved April 13, 2007, from Think College Early Massachusetts Web site: http://www. thinkcollegeearly. org/benefits/benefit. htm

The Minimum Wage Should Be Increased :: Argumentative Essay, Minimum Wage Essays

Since its inception, the minimum wage has been a hotbed for debate. If today’s leaders could manage to increase minimum wage, millions of families would benefit. A person working at minimum wage will only make about $10,700 a year. When rent, groceries, bills and gas are all added up, it appears to be a nearly impossible task to keep a family afloat. But working 40 hours a week at $5.15 an hour, one makes less than $206 a week after taxes. Making $206/week, one brings home about $824/month. Adding 17 gallons of gas at $2.20 a gallon in a car; the cost ends up to be about $38 a week, $152/month. The gas and electricity bill about $120, $50 for cable, $147 for property taxes, $45 for the telephone bill, $25 for water, and $42 for house insurance. All this totals about $580 (Abrams, H). Making it difficult to afford cable, and make the smallest payment possible on all the bills causing one to slip into debt. This is reality for many of the people in the United States. At the current minimum wage level, a full time, year round minimum wage worker in 2005 will earn $5,378 less than the $16,090 needed to lift a family of three out of poverty (Min imum). Today the federal minimum wage is $5.15, but should be about $8.50 if Congress had adjusted it for inflation over the past 35 years. While $5.15 may not seen that bad, when factoring in such variables as sky rocketing gas prices, budgets can get pretty tight. David Shepard, a sophomore at Wayne State University, worked at a Meijer Retail and Grocery Superstore for over two years while in high school. At the time Shepard lived with his parents and didn’t have to worry about paying rent or buying groceries, all that he had to pay for was filling up his gas tank and paying for his car insurance. Shepard recalled, â€Å"It was all I could do to pay for the basics like gas and bill’s, I barely had any money to have fun on the weekends†. This is only an example of a high school student that can nearly slip by on minimum wage with only a few expenses. There are 1.8 million people in America with children under the age of 18 that would benefit from an increase in m inimum wage (Minimum).

Bad Student Essay

With the turn of the century, the American young republic entered upon an era of (1) expansion and development which can be described only as marvelous. The rapid progress in the settlement of the West, the influx of foreign immigration, the growth of the larger cities, extension of (2) transportation systems by construction of canals and government roads, application of the new inventions employing the power of steam in river navigation and on railroads, — these features (3) of American progress during the first fifty years in our first completed century of national existence can be here but thus briefly summarized. It is unnecessary to attempt (4) a full historical outline of that period growth and change except to note that coincidentally with this expansive period of material prosperity and growth, our national literature entered upon what we may not inaptly term (5) its golden age – the age of its best essayists, novelists and poets, (6) our real American men of letters There were (7) evidences of literary activity in Boston, in Philadelphia, and in New York. Little groups of literati, as they liked to call themselves, mightily interested in the development of a national literature, gave an atmosphere that was helpful to literary effort; and they themselves accomplished what could be accomplished by interest, (8) patriotism and industry when joined with talent, modest if not of only average standard. They are the (9) Knickerbockers writers, so called (10) in respect to the old Dutch traditions of Manhattan, the spirit of which was directly inherited by most of them, and the influence of which appeared to some extent in their work. a. evidences of  b. in respect to the old Dutch traditions c. Knickerbockers d. expansion and development e. a full historical outline of that period growth f. patriotism and industry g. transportation systems by construction of canals h. our real American men of letters i. of American progress during the first fifty years j. its golden age Question 2: Write down the literary periods of the American Literature in the answer box on the answer sheet. (2. 0 ms) PART B: STORY ANALYSIS (6. 0 pts) 1. From Franklin’s â€Å"Entrance into Philadelphia†, point out the facts that illustrate the kind of man he was. 2. Why was he a famous writer in the time? What kind of contributions – literature or politics or sociology – did he make to the young nation? Do you like his writing? Please explain why or why not? The End STUDENTS ARE ALLOWED TO USE ONLY PAPER DICTIONARY. TEST B Question 1: Complete the text with words or phrases provided (2. 0 pts) CHARACTERISTICS OF AMERICAN LITERATURE The United States has such a large and (1) varied literature. that we can make no true generalizations about it. But three characteristics seem (2) to stand out and give it a flavor all its own. First, American literature reflects (3) beliefs and traditions that come from the nation’s frontier days. The pioneer ideals (4) of self-reliance and independence appear again and again in American writings. American authors have great respects for (5) the value and importance of individual They tend to reject authority and (6) to emphasize democracy and equality of men. Second, American writers have always had a strong tendency to (7) break with literary traditions and strike out in their own directions. Many writers have (8) rejected the old in order to create something new. Third, a (9) lively streak of humor runs through American literature from the earliest times to the present. In many cases a dash of salty humor saves a serious theme from becoming too sentimental. American humor tends to be exaggerated rather than subtle. It reflects the people’s ability (10) to laugh at themselves during the most difficult times. a. rejected the old b. the value and importance of individual c. to laugh at themselves d. to emphasize e. of self-reliance and independence f. break with literary traditions g. lively streak of humor h. to stand out and give it  i. beliefs and traditions j. varied literature Question 2: Match the authors and their works or philosophy (2. 0 pts) AUTHORS 11. Benjamin Franklin/e. 12. Ralph Waldo Emerson/c. 13. Earnest Hemingway/b. 14. Washington Irving/ a. 15. Mark Twain/d. WORKS a. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow b. The Old Man and the Sea c. Transcendentalism d. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer e. The Autobiography PART B: LITERARY ANALYSIS (6. 0 pts) Read the poem â€Å"How Happy Is the Little Stone† by Emily Dickinson† below. Then answer the questions by writing a short composition How happy is the little stone  That rambles in the road alone And doesn’t care about careers And exigencies never fears Whose coat of elemental brown A passing universe put on; And independent as the sun, Associates or glows alone Fulfilling absolute decree In casual simplicity NOTE: exigencies: an urgent need or demand that you must deal with decree: rule or law casual: not formal Question 1: Analyze the poem to tell the author’s ideas embedded in it. Question 2: Have you ever wished to have such a happy life like the â€Å"little stone†? Why or why not? STUDENTS ARE ALLOWED TO USE ONLY PAPPER DICTIONARY. The End

A Literature Review of Transformational Leadership “Organization Climate †Employee Performance” Essay

Abstract The literature review attempts to examine transformational leadership impact addressing organizational change and performance. Based on the concept and theory do the attributes and skills provide the tools for leaders to motivate and influence follower’s verses the traditional leading through power and authority. The history of transformational leadership style has now been tested and defined for over thirty years. The literature review sampling crosses many organizations from the non for profit, governmental, private business, paramilitary, corporations and healthcare. Furthermore, the difference in style from transactional leadership (situational leading) to transformational leadership, along with addressing the cultural and climate of the organizations which challenge leaders to find a method to motivate and inspire their followers. As the leaders navigate the changing landscape within the organization what characteristics and traits are parts of the make-up a good and effe ctive leader. The paper will conclude that the research and review of the literature supports transformational leadership will motivate, inspire and create an innovative environment to meet today’s organization and employee trust to follow their leader. As the topic of leadership begins with many studies and opinions on what type of leadership motivates and inspires an organization and its employees working towards a common goal for the betterment of each other which generally points to transformational leadership. Therefore, the search and review of numerous articles and studies confirms that transformational leadership has an edge as a successful leadership style and concept to meet the challenges addressing morale and performance. Furthermore, transactional leadership has a psychological component through its approach developing relationships as a key factor instead of leading by authority and power  while responding to the situation. Before moving on to the literature review and findings I found an interesting article titled â€Å"Traits of leadership† (Jerabek, S., & Day, J., Danny. (2009) to focus on what is a good leader and â€Å"For this article, the authors qualify a good leader as one who can effectively lead a group of individuals with a specific goal. The personality of the leader, coupled with an ability to accomplish the mission, prove critical for success of the organization. Leaders also have personality characteristics that promote and develop others, such as overall awareness, empowerment of others, and personal integrity. The lack or overabundance of a leader’s characteristics can affect any organization. Leaders exhibit various styles of leadership that mature and change throughout their careers.† ( FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, 78(11), pg.20.) As the review approaches to address the question many organizations do not understand management verses leadership I thought this article provided a good foundation on what is a good leader which assisted with focusing on the topic of transformational leadership. So what is transformational leadership which began as transforming leadership within the political area in 1978 by James Macgregor Burns through his research on political leaders? â€Å"The initial concept of transformational leadership was provided by Burns in his research about political leaders. According to Burns, transformational leadership is a process in which leaders and followers promote each other to higher levels of morality and motivation. Transformational leaders help their followers to look at old problems via a new perspective. They stimulate their followers to attempt higher than usual levels. Transformational leaders inspire their followers to think more than their own aims and interests and to focus on greater team, organizational, national and global objectives. By providing future perspective, such leaders influence over their followers in a manner that they assume that perspective as their own aim and show high efforts to achieve it. These leaders are able to move the organization toward the ideal perspective by coordinating the employees and integrating all system components [1].† (Jandaghi, G., Matin, H. Z., & Farjami, A.) (2009). The research began in 1978 and in 1985 Bernard M. Bass extended Burns work  and focused on the psychological aspect of transformational leadership as it inspire and motivated followers. As the researched evolved into the nineties the impact on organizational culture and innovation was being examined. Since this type of leadership concept was more people oriented and relationship building within the organization the question about performance and success was beginning to be studies in the 2000’s. Furthermore, what is the impact to the changing culture within organizations relating to innovation and the rapid changes in technology, globalization and the high demand for new products and services? â€Å"As it is obvious from the term associated with this type of leadership, transformational leaders, look doe transforming and changing, which is necessary for innovation. Although leadership is an important factor in the life of every organization, â€Å"yet few studies have empirically examined the link between this factor and innovation at the organizational level (Jung et al., 2003:p.525)†. (Mokhber, M., Ismail, W. K. b. W., & Vakilbashi, A.) (2011) Australian Journal of Basic & Applied Sciences, 5(6), p.504). Does this type of leadership style favor any gender type since the concept has more of the softer approach to leadership verses the hard line authoritarian and power type approach? There was one reference in the research which referred to a phenomenon termed the glass cliff where the woman’s attributes are a better fit during an organizational crisis such as poor performance. So a lesson learned as part of this research about gender still focuses on characteristics, attributes and corporate stereotyping type of bias. However, if this information is carried forward beyond the stereotype corporate male dominate leaders these research findings could validate why transformational leadership style works best during a crisis because of the female attribute of relationship building. As part of this review it is important to look at this type of research of gender differences and their psychological phenomenon of transformational leadership. There is something to learn from the glass cliff research of (Bruckmà ¼ller, S., & Branscombe, N. R.) (2010) as stated, â€Å"If men have maneuvered the organization into trouble, appointing a female leader will appear as one way to achieve the transformation needed to turn things around (see Ryan & Haslam, 2007 for a related discussion). (British Journal of  Social Psychology, 49(3), p. 435). One word of importance within the above sentence which is transformation indicates the value of glass cliff research not because of the bias or gender issue but the attributes to be successful during an organizational crisis which mirrors one of the attributes needed to be an effective transformational leader†¦a small validation. The review discussed many issues as they relate to organizational challenges and the impact of leadership styles when motivating and inspiring followers to perform, become innovative and improve climate within the organization or group. As discussed during the research from 1978 to 2012 the change in the workplace and employee expectations from their employer or the leaders. How transformation is delivered was addressed and the factors which are identified with lower morale and reduce performance. (Bunker, K., Wakefield, M., Jaehnigen, O., & Stefl, B.) (2006). â€Å"Change initiatives typically derail because the ball is dropped on the people side. Perfectly good strategies and change initiatives stall or fail when employees become stuck in some phase of the emotional transition. Leaders who fail to connect around these natural emotions generally struggle to gain sufficient buy-in from employees and thereby undermine their progress toward new goals. Instead of a loyal, productive, a nd enthusiastic workforce, executives and managers end up leading employees who are insecure, fearful, and skeptical. (Transformation delivered. T+d, 60(3), p.26.) The movement within organizational change to recruit and retain good talent was and added benefit identified with effective leaders and as stated to be an effective leader your followers need to be motivated and inspired. So this was another positive component the research found why transformational leadership is part of performance of an organization and its employees. (Bunker, k. et al.) â€Å"For leaders to effectively harness and maintain the talent and commitment needed to benefit from organizational change, they must: Examine their behaviors and emotions tied to change and transition. This begins the process of operating from a place of authenticity as a leader. Establish and protect trust. Without trust and honesty, authenticity and credibility suffer, which undermines solid change initiatives or management decisions. Find a balance between structural leadership and  people leadership. By learning the important competencies for leading in times of change and transition, lea ders have a new perspective from which to operate. (Transformation delivered. T+d, 60(3), p. 30). This article is an overview of the transition plan to transform the United States Postal Service which began in 2002. Each study relating to organizational change and leadership concept supports the transformational leadership style. As stated within this article transformational leadership. .(Jandaghi, G., Matin, H. Z., & Farjami, A.) (2009). â€Å"The effective role of managers and leaders in radical changes and transformations is unavoidable in the organizations. Leadership and management are not identical. To influence over others, management is depended on formal power while leadership is resulted from a social influence process. Leaders make cultures and their fundamental role is affecting others. In other words, transformational leaders try to make changes that increase organizational efficacy and performance. These are changes that cause higher aim and expectations to the organization. (Comparing transformational leadership in successful and unsuccessful companies. International Journal of Social Sciences, 4(3), p. 212). Furthermore, does this concept and theory carry over to multi-agency and crisis management which is more traditionally authoritative management style however, there is a movement of change in leadership style called Interwoven Leadership which combines features such as task skills, interpersonal skills, stakeholder awareness and personal qualities of commanders and their teams. This type of leadership has some of the same attributes as transformational leadership when referring to interpersonal skills. (Borodzicz, E & Devitt, K) â€Å"For an interwoven method to be embedded effectively, it must be supported by the wider organizational culture in normality and incorporated into organizational training at many levels. This may raise challenges of ethos as well as practicality. As with all cultural shifts, these value changes take a long time to truly embed within an organization, and some Gold leaders may continue to be wedded to the ‘hard skill’ approaches that may have served them well in their careers. (Interwoven leadership: The missing link in multi-agency major incident  response. Journal of Contingencies & Crisis Management, 16(4), p. 214) In addition, the following comment supports the research defining leadership moving towards the need for interpersonal skills to be an effective leader. (Jandaghi, G., et. al.) (2009) â€Å"The effective role of managers and leaders in radical changes and transformations is unavoidable in the organizations. Leadership and management are not identical. To influence over others, management is depended on formal power while leadership is resulted from a social influence process. Leaders make cultures and their fundamental role is affecting others. In other words, transformational leaders try to make changes that increase organizational efficacy and performance. These are changes that cause higher aim and expectations to the organization. (International Journal of Social Sciences, 4(3), p. 211) Now another factor was discovered in the research of the literature which one was the impact of the baby-boomer retirement phase which might leave a deficiency in the leadership roles. However, the research showed more optimism to this concern and myth. (Johnson, J.) (Spring 2009) â€Å"Among the concerns over baby boom retirements is that of a workforce leadership drain. The age demographics of CEOs presented here, based on census data, suggest that a leadership deï ¬ cit in the nonproï ¬ t sector may not be as imminent as in the government sector but that it looms closer than in the for-proï ¬ t sector. (Nonprofit Management & Leadership, 19(3), p. 300) Wisdom is an unique attribute identified in the review of literature titled Developing You. (McCullough, C.) (2007). â€Å"Wisdom. As Jim Collins’s research demonstrates, Level 5 leaders have this very deep inner perspective. Wisdom is not developed via a checklist. It is developed over the reflective journey of a lifetime. (Developing You, p. 67) This supports the research which highlights most transformational leaders have more experience to truly be effective and develop trust from the follower’s overtime. The research did address the difference of transactional leaders and transformational leaders and the discussion was obvious in today’s challenging times the transformational leader is the right fit â€Å"According to Fulwiler, there are transactional leaders and transformational leaders. Transactional leaders  operate in command-and-control mode. They focus on costs and financial goals, and have a quid pro quo relationship with workers. â€Å"This will get you average,† Fulwiler added. On the other hand, transformational leaders operate in a collaborative mode. They lead by example, encourage employee involvement and team building, and genuinely care about worker Wellness. â€Å"This is the key to productivity and high-performance work systems,† Fulwiler said. â€Å"This leads to above-average outcomes.† (The Power of Transformational Leadership) (2013), Professional Safety, 58(1), 19-19.) Another factor addressed in the literature was the relationship of training and development to transformational leadership and the research displayed a positive outcome as stated, â€Å"The results have important implications for those aiming to implement organizational-level interventions to improve employee well-being. Although cross-sectional, our study raises the possibility that training leaders to exhibit certain behaviors might also change working conditions of subordinates. Rather than implementing wide-ranging organizational changes for a large number of employees, these results suggest that training their superiors might have a similar impact (e.g. training managers in transformational leadership behaviors might bring about involved followers who perceive their jobs as meaningful and experience high levels of inï ¬â€šuence). Training staff at managerial levels might prove to be both more cost-effective and easy to control than implementing wide-ranging organizational changes. (Nielson, et al., Journal of Advanced Nursing, 63(5), p. 473 ) Another viewpoint which supports training transformational leaders will improve performance as stated,. â€Å"Speciï ¬ cally, the ï ¬ nding that transformational leadership was positively associated with relational identiï ¬ cation with the supervisor, which, in turn, was related to self-efï ¬ cacy, and consequently performance, suggests training leaders to be more transformational may provide important and useful returns on investment in terms of follower development. Such training initiatives have been shown to be related to increased levels of commitment, motivation, satisfaction, and performance among followers (Barling, Weber, & Kelloway, 1996; Dvir et al., 2002). (Walumbwa, F.O. & Hartwell, C. A., Journal of Occupational & Organizational Psychology, 84(1), p. 167) Furthermore, this research which was stated in the above article confirmed  the research relating to the 1985 (Bass) theory that transformational leadership does have an impact on performance. Moreover, it is supported by the following information and research. (Zhu, W., Sosik, J. J., Riggio, R. E., & Yang, B). (2012). â€Å"As indicated by several researchers (e.g., Bass & Riggio, 2006; Sosik & Jung, 2010), empowerment is a crucial process that defines transformational leadership and illustrates why it is effective in building follower organizational identification and performance. Followers’ identification with the organization may be extremely important for their work attitudes, such as organizational commitment, and for other work performance measures, associated with excellence in the contemporary global marketplace. (Journal of Behavioral & Applied Management, 13(3), p. 208) Conclusion: Supported by research, theory and sampling of managers, leaders, employees and stakeholders relating to organizational change, performance and leadership the conclusion is transformational leadership style or concept has the skills and attributes to motivate and inspire followers. Therefore, the organizational climate is conducive to innovation and healthy work environment to address the ever changing workplace while improving organization’s capacities to compete in the challenging business environment. References Bruckmà ¼ller, S., & Branscombe, N. R. (2010). The glass cliff: When and why women are selected as leaders in crisis contexts. British Journal of Social Psychology, 49(3), 433-451. doi: 10. 1348/0 14466609X466594 Bunker, K., Wakefield, M., Jaehnigen, O., & Stefl, B. (2006). Transformation delivered. T+d, 60(3), 26-30. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.lewisu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=20607564&site=ehost-live&scope=site Devitt, K. R., & Borodzicz, E. P. (2008). Interwoven leadership: The missing link in multi-agency major incident response. Journal of Contingencies & Crisis Management, 16(4), 208-216. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-5973.2008.00551.x Jandaghi, G., Matin, H. Z., & Farjami, A. (2009). Comparing transformational leadership in successful and unsuccessful companies. International Journal

Business and deontology

Business and deontology Part 2 - Case StudyEthical problem I have confronted in a business situationDuring my attachment in a prominent auditing firm, I was confronted with a ethical dilemma that challenged my professionalism and business ethics. Our firm was tasked with conducting an audit into the controversial sale of a government owned luxury hotel to private investors. Controversy arose when it was discovered that even though the hotel as a government asset was to be sold through a bidding process to the highest bidder, due process was not followed. Higher bidders were ignored and the sale settled with a private company that had made a lower bid. News surrounding the controversial sale had already spilled to the media. The Ministry of Finance was supposed to handle the hotel transfer, a move aimed at improving performance and generating finances for the government. In spite of the controversy surrounding the sale, the minister for finance insisted that the transfer was transparent and publicly invited auditors to examine all the documents.English: Immanuel Kant Tomb in Koenigsberg Ð  Ã'Æ'Ã' Ã¯ ¿ ½...The matter had generated a lot of debate, both in the public arena and the legislative quarters.Due to the work load of the whole process and the short deadlines that we had been given, I was actively involved in the whole auditing process, even in my capacity as a student in attachment. The information we collected and the background search we did about the concerned company, which had allegedly bought the hotel revealed surprising details. The buyer that existed on the papers was not registered in any country and no tax returns from the said company had ever been filed. Even after contacting the registrar of companies from which the company was allegedly registered, he was not aware of its existence and hence the company was untraceable. On the other hand,

How to Use Linking Language in Written English

How to Use Linking Language in Written English Once you have mastered the basics of correct usage in written English, you will want to express yourself in increasingly complex ways. One of the best ways to improve your writing style is to use linking language. Linking language refers to sentence connectors used to express relationships between ideas and to combine sentences; the use of these connectors will add sophistication to your writing style. Each section below contains linking language using similar sentences to show how the same idea can be expressed in a variety of manners. Once you have understood the use of these sentence connectors, take an example sentence of your own and write a number of sentences based on the examples to practice your own writing skills. Some Examples of Sentence Connectors The best way to understand the functionality of sentence connectors is to see examples of their usage in everyday situations. Take, for instance, that you want to combine the following two sentences: Food and drink prices in New York are very high and Renting an apartment in New York is very expensive. One could use the sentence connectors semicolon and the word furthermore to combine the two to form one cohesive sentence: Food and drink prices in New York are very high; furthermore, renting an apartment is very expensive. Another example, this time keeping the meaning of both sentences but linking them together to form a cohesive idea related to both: Life in New York is very expensive.Life in New York can be extremely exciting. Example: Despite the fact that life in New York is very expensive, it can be extremely exciting   And in this example, one can form conclusions as part of a sentence connector to emphasize a cause and effect relationship between two sentences: Life in New York is very expensive.Many people would love to live in New York. Example: Many people would love to live in New York; consequently, life in New York is very expensive. In any of these cases, sentence connectors serve to shorten writing and make a writers point more concise and easy to understand. Sentence connectors additionally help the pace and flow of a piece of writing feel more natural and fluid. When Not to Use Sentence Connectors Its not always appropriate to use sentence connectors or to link sentences at all, especially if the rest of the writing is already weighty with complex sentence structures. Sometimes, simplicity is key to get a point across. Another instance of a time not to use sentence connectors is when combining sentences could force an assumption on the reader or render the new sentence inaccurate. Take for instance writing an essay on the cause-effect relationship between human energy consumption and global warming, while you may be able to say human have burned more fossil fuels in the last century than ever before; ​consequentially, the global temperature has risen, it may not be entirely accurate given the readers interpretation of that statement without context clues.

Self assessment assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Self assessment assignment - Essay Example Overall, the test was a great revelation to me, and one that will help me to improve my personal and professional life. The score was 45. This score means that most people think one is confident and in charge of their lives. However, the individual in question is not so sure, whether they are confident. This occurs when one had a difficult upbringing, especially guardians and parents who were so demanding. It can also occur when on thinks that they are not as good as people actually think they are. In relationships, such people will feel anxious and worry so much even about issues that other people would consider petty. It is also a culmination of not being able to forgive self for past mistakes (Cohen & Swerdlik, 2002). Personally, I believe the test best describes me. I have not been so confident in life; sometimes, I feign it, and people around me believe just that-that I am confident. I find it hard to get into relationships. Overall, this test depicted my situation and did not only help me to understand my self-esteem, but also the self-esteem of my close friends. The score was 76. This score means that one is likely to be a leader and set the right directions for the company. They only need to be more confident and get out of the shell. They can plan and initiate change, not only in themselves, but also in others. Leadership is a skill that can be learned and used to motivate others at the workplace and other realms of life (Cohen & Swerdlik, 2002). The score means that if only more effort is added, one can just be as passionate about honing their leadership skills, because at the end of the day leadership is learned, not acquired. Personally, the score surprised me. I have always believed that leaders are born; that they must be orators. After the score, though, I am now confident that I can compose myself and assume any leadership

Proposing a Solution on Gas Prices Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Proposing a Solution on Gas Prices - Essay Example We are currently in the middle of a similar crisis as the national price of gasoline is currently at $3.86 a gallon (Gasbuddy). Due to the problem Americans must find solutions to save money on gasoline. Issues The use of an automobile has become a social norm that many Americans are finding very hard to give up. An automobile gives a person a sense of freedom and it allows the user to be able to transport long distances in relative short periods of time. The normal driving speed in a highway is about 60 miles per hour. Due to the culture of driving is going to be hard to change the culture of America to give up driving. The cost of gasoline is on the rise. We have already reached very uncomfortable levels and the predictions are the prices are going to continue to rise. By the summer of 2012 the price of crude oil might reach $200 a barrel. The price of gasoline is going to continue to go up in the near future. Problem Statement The rise in the price of gasoline is an imminent threa t and the most likely scenario is that gasoline will continue to steadily increase every month through 2011. A problem statement that summarizes the problem is: Americans need to find long term solutions to reduce their dependency on gasoline. Alternative solutions An alternative solution to the problem could be finding a way to reduce the miles per gallon consumption of your current automobile. When cars are not well tuned their mpg rating can be reduced by 15% to 20%. Giving your car proper maintenance can help improve the efficiency of an automobile. A good tuned-up can do wonders to the mpg rating of a car. A second alternative solution is to lower the consumption of gasoline by changing your consumption patterns. Reducing the driving around and staying home more can help a family reduce their monthly gasoline expenses. Changing patters implies making life changes. A good way to lower the usage of gas is by car pooling to work with other colleagues. If five people get together a nd create a car pool system the five individuals could save about 75% in gasoline expenses related to their daily commute to work. A third alternative solution is to purchase a new energy efficient vehicle commonly referred to as a green car. There are two primary options which are to purchase a hybrid vehicle or to purchase a fully electric vehicle. A hybrid vehicle can give upwards of 40 miles per gallon. A unique model that is capable of greater mpg efficiency is the Chevy Volt. The Chevy volt has different driving modes one of them is capable of giving 230 miles per gallon. Nissan Corporation recently released an electric vehicle called the Nissan Leaf. The Nissan Leaf has a battery capable of driving a 100 miles range at speeds of up to 90 miles per gallon. Optimum solution The optimum solution selected to reduce the dependency Americans have on gasoline is to purchase a green vehicle. The alternative that truly enables a person to eliminate gasoline from their lives is to purc hase an electric vehicle such as the Nissan Leaf. The Nissan Leaf cost $32,780, but after tax savings the car has a net value of $25,280 (Nissanusa). The Leaf is an electric car which implies that if a person only used the Leaf to drive they would spend cero money on gas. Based on the average yearly driving of Americans of 15,000 miles per year at a price of $4 gallon a person could save upwards of $2,500 a year. The best way to implement this solution is to have a secondary car such as an old Nissan Sentra that gives a

Attribution Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Attribution Theory - Essay Example For people to interpret the causes of particular behaviour performed by other individuals, it is necessary for them to observe the behaviour, and attribute external or internal causes to it. Any outside body or agent that triggers or causes the event is an external factor while factors that are within the control of an individual and are a part of his/her personality are the internal factors (Shackleton, 1995). An example of how attribution theory can be applied in our daily lives could be our reaction to, say, having a good social circle. An individual who is a loner and has no friends to talk to will always be found complaining about how the world is so cruel and unjust. This is attributing an external factor to the event. However, a person who is the life of a party and is acquainted with a lot of people will be found claiming that it is so because of his being so attractive and smart. As obvious, this case refers to an internal factor or the factor which is within a person. There are many factors which are related to attribution. The determination of the causes depends on three things (Kelly, 1967). Distinctiveness, the first one, tells whether the person's actions are distinct and different from other situations. The second is consensus, which tells whether other people behave in the same way to the same situation. The third factor is consistency, which finds out whether the individual behaves the same way consistently to the same situation. The theory predicts that whenever there is high distinctiveness, the causes of the behaviour are external and with low distinctiveness, the factors are internal. For consensus, it is an external factor whenever there is a high consensus and an internal factor when the consensus is low. High consistency indicates an internal factor while low consistency depicts an external factor. In fact, when we apply attribution theory, there are two types of errors which can result in distorted attributions. One is the fundamental attribution error and the other is self-serving bias. (1) Fundamental attribution error: It occurs when people overestimate the effects of internal factors while underestimating the effects of external factors when judging the behavior of others (Martinko, 1995.) It is when the actions of people are attributed to their traits and personality rather than the external influence that may have led them to such an action. (2) Self-serving bias: This error, also known as attributional bias, refers to the tendency of individuals to claim responsibility for successes while attributing failures to other causes or factors (Martinko, 1995.) It is just one way of imaging what is pleasing to us rather than the realistic situation. One factor which can be related to this bias is whether there is a reward or punishment proclaimed for certain behavior (Harvey & Smith, 1977). It is suggestd that when we suceed, we tend to overestimate the internal factors which could be our talent and effort and underestimate the external factor which could be the help of others. Yet, if we were failed, we would overestimate the external factors which could be lack of collegue's co-operation, and underestimate the internal factors such as our laziness. This indicates that people would explain the same behavior to events differently if it occurred differently (. Systematic bias: It is a form of self-serving bias and occurs when people generally tend to think that they are better at tasks that are

Natural Zeolite as a Cost-effective Opacifier

Natural Zeolite as a Cost-effective Opacifier Ali Ghafarinazari1, 2 à ¯Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ ºÃƒ ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ªÃƒ ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ , Esfandiar Amiri1, Mahnaz Karbassi3, Morteza Soroor1, Talieh Rajabloo3 Abstract Zircon as an opacifier material is under the very real risk of being replaced. This is mainly because of two reasons: the anticipated shortage of high-quality grade zircon, and high costs associated with the production of zircon as an opacifier material, which is resulting in upward pressure on zircon prices. This study aimed at assessing the influence natural zeolite as opacifier of on both the technological behavior during processing and the technical performances of ceramic glaze for tile manufacturers. Moreover, preliminary investigations show this category of tiles has potential at antibacterial activity in a cost-effective way. Keywords: Glass-ceramic; Anti-bacterial Tile; Titanates; Zirconia; 1. Introduction The ceramic tile industry is being progressively moving its worldwide production toward new materials with improved aesthetic and technical properties. The availability of these raw materials in the huge amounts required by the tile industry is a problem in many areas, while in other contexts it is the high price to make the tile manufacture disadvantaged in competition with other producers of building materials, whose manufacturing costs are lower. Thus, the ceramic industry is continuously searching for cheap raw materials able to replace the traditional without altering the process and product characteristics [1]. In glaze production, amongst commercial frits, zircon (ZrSiO4) is most conventional opacifier [2]. Nevertheless, these frits are quite expensive and therefore, there have recently been certain attempts to lower the production cost such as optimizing amount of zircon [3], or taking another suitable glass–ceramic glaze systems [4]. Another common opacifier is titania (TiO2). Although refractive indices of titania (2.52 for anatase and 2.76 for rutile [5]) is higher than zirconium oxide (2.17 [1]), but it has technical problems. First is low chemical stability during melting. In addition, rutile, which is stable structure of titania in standard conditions, is the main problem. Because rutile phase, in opposite of anatase, is yellow and leads to increase roughness of surface. Zeolites are high porous and crystalline alumino-silicates with a three-dimensional structure based upon repeated units of silica (SiO4) and alumina (AlO4) tetrahedral [6]. Based on high-temperature phase transformations of natural zeolites [7], possibility of using Iranian natural zeolite as opacifier of tiles are investigated in this study. Zeolites belong to the tectosilicate mineral group and are building up by a framework of corner-sharing. The framework arranges as such to form a microporous structure with large cages (diameters less than 2 nm) connected into channels. They possess special properties, such as ion exchange, molecular sieves, a large surface area, and catalytic activity, which make them a preferable material for tremendous industrial applications in industries such as domestic and commercial water purification, softening, petrochemical industry, biogas industry, heating and refrigeration, detergents, medical, agriculture [8]. Now a days, they are promising for im plementation at ceramic production, such as brick [9], ceramic pigments [10], porcelain and tiles bodies [11] also self-glazing ceramic tiles [12]. The main objective of this study is to use Iranian natural zeolite and develop from this a zeolite opacifier product for glazes, which possesses superior opacifying properties or whiteness values after application on a ceramic body, compared to that of the current zircon, more expensive commercial ceramic or prime grade zircon materials. 2. Experimental Procedure 2.1. Fabrication of Samples In the first part of the experimental study, one single fast-firing opaque tile glaze selected as standard frit (Table 1). The basic Standard frit composition was selected consisting of 6 wt% suspending agent (kaolin), 0.2 wt% deflocculated (sodium tri-poly-phosphate), and 0.1 wt% ligand (Carboxyl Methyl Cellulose, CMC) in an eccentric mill used at selected suspension compositions. At this research, all of materials were of commercial grades (less than 98 wt% purity) from industrial clays. 2.2. Sintering The frit suspensions applied on the surface of tile supports using a regulated glaze applicator for the deposition of raw layers with 0.4 mm thickness. The test specimens were then fired in a roller kiln corresponded to the temperature and rate used industrially to manufacture the product with the support and glaze in question. Heating and cooling rates were about 40  ºC/min and soaking time at 1000  ºC was 3 minutes. 2.3. Characterization of samples The opacity of glaze was evaluated based on a colorimetric analysis using a Minolta CM-2600d spectrophotometer. The results are expressed by the tri-chromatic coordinates: L* means the degree of whiteness, a* indicates the variation between green and red colors, and b* presents the variation between blue and yellow colors, therefore investigation of opacity amount of L* is very important. To better understand the gloss results of the glazes (ÃŽ ²60) was determined by Zehntner ZGM1110 glossiness analyzer. To complement the results, the glazes were characterized micro structurally by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). Crystalline phase identification was performed on glazes prepared from ground samples using a X-ray diffractometer (Philips PW 170) operating with (Cu-KÃŽ ± = 1.54056 Ã…, 35 kV, 40 mA) radiation in the range of 10-60 ° 2ÃŽ ¸, using the following settings: 0.1 mm receiving slit, 0.4 s/0.04 ° 2ÃŽ ¸ counting time. FESEM images were taken by Hitachi S-4160. On account of experiments method and results, particularly SEM, we predicted that the new tile has potential for antibacterial activity. The popular method for antibacterial activity is  ½ McFarland. We described in detail this method for antibacterial tile [13]. As briefly speaking, E. coli and S. aureus were deposited on tile slide (5 cm Ãâ€" 5 cm). Each slide was placed in a sterile vial. Tryptone soy broth was then added to each vial. An aliquot (10 ml) of S. aureus or E. coli suspension was added to each vial (1.6 Ãâ€" 103 ml-1) containing the slides. The vials were incubated with agitation at 35  °C, 220 rpm. The bacteriostatic activity was evaluated after 24 h and the percentage of bacteria reduction was calculated using the following equation (1): (1) In which R is the reduction rate, A is the number of bacterial colonies from untreated tiles and B is the number of bacterial colonies from the treated tiles. 3. Results and discussion In order to investigate effect of zeolite in glaze at different chemical conditions, some experiments carried out in the same firing profile. Output of glossiness and spectrophotometer these experiments showed in Table 2. Before going to the results, it is better to remind that depend on type of body, in general acceptable amount of L* for an opaque glaze is 83.24, it is noticed that this reference opaque glaze has 14wt% Zircon. In addition, acceptable amount for glossiness for shiny tile is at least 88 such as standard frit which is perfectly transparent. After checking standard, conventional opacifires, zircon and titania, were added. When 10wt% zircon was added to frit as state of compound, degree of whiteness and covering increased sharply, without significant effect on glossy. Uniformity distribution of unfired zircon powders on standard frit exhibited on Figure 1. Another conventional opacifier, titania, was added in amount of 5 and 10wt% to the standard frit. Outcomes in Table 2 confirm that amounts of whiteness (L*) and covering (a*) is very upper than zircon but yellowish amount (b*) and decreasing of shiny confirm that titania is in rutile crystallographic state. Morphology of titania on glaze is directly depended on crystallographic state. Microstructural studies confirmed that rutile crystals always have had an acicular morphology, however, anatase crystals were observed with cubic and rectangular morphologies [14]. The other stable phase of titanium in glaze is sphene (CaTiSiO5 [15]), which is completely sphere in glaze [4]. Visual effect of sphene and anatase is white, while anatase has benefits such as semiconductor and antibacterial effects. Bou et al. published that in order to improving smoothness and glossiness adding 1-3wt% P2O5, rutile transformed to sphene. The problem of sphene is non-uniform distribution in glass matrix [4], which decrease chemical and mechanical resistant. Based on Figure 2, existence of rutile confirmed. This big crystal leads to roughness of surface and diminishing glossiness to 25. One of interesting results of FESEM of glaze containing titania is elemental distribution on glass-ceramic. In glassy matrix, atomic percentages of fluxes are 0.93, 4.87, 7.01, and 2.36 % for Na, K, Ca, and Zn respectively, but these amounts are 3.46, 5.25, 12.35, and 3.11 %; i.e. around crystalline part flux materials especially sodium and calcium lead to nucleation. And about 3 at% titanium was solved in glass, due to low chemical stability. In order to investigation of effect of natural zeolite in glaze and comparing with other opacifiers, 10wt% natural zeolite supplemented to the standard. Result of XRD shows that the zeolite has crystallinity based on having less amount of background with sharp peaks (Figure 3). The zeolite leads to covering and whitening surface without significant effect on glossy. As it can be seen in Figure 4, there are large amounts of unfired or crystalline materials in glass matrix which is due to existence of zeolite. In contrast, for higher temperature (1100  °C) and time duration (2 h) zeolite acts as a flux [1], but at this condition it acts as a refractory. Although these results (Table 2) were comparable with zircon, we could not achieve a sufficient opaque glaze because of refractive index of zeolite which is about 1.48 – 1.60 [16], and is close to silicate-leadless glasses (1.5 – 1.7) [5]. For sufficient covering with whitening in glaze by zeolite, possibility of using zeolite as a nucleus for titanium oxides was inspected. For this purpose, 3wt% TiO2 and 7wt% zeolite added to the standard. Table 2 confirms that this glaze is an acceptable as an opaque glaze. This glaze has a shiny surface, well covered tile body, high whiteness, and especially low price due to cheap raw materials. To complement the results, FESEM was carried out on these tiles. Figure 5 exhibits rectangular nanoparticles (25-500 nm, 85 nm average) with uniform distribution in glaze. Based on previous lectures, this structure is related to anatase [5]. Owing to EDX analysis, elements distribution on matrix and ceramic generally was the same with previous samples but percentage of Ti in matrix relented to 0.42 (instead of 3 at% in Figure 2). Indeed, natural zeolite is a cheap agent for nucleation of nanocrystalline anatase without side effect on other properties of tiles. One proposed mechanism for this phenomenon from thermodynamic point of view is alumina and silica which leads to stability of anatase [9]. Based upon zeolite is alumino-silica, this reasoning was checked by kaolin, which is a mineral clay contains mainly alumina and silicates. Results of this experiment are illustrated in Table 2 and Figure 6. Kaolin had no effect on phase and morphology of rutile, and it led to increasing of roughness and firing temperature of glaze. In a conclusion ability of natural zeolite in making glass-ceramic by nanoparticles of anatase is unique according to high porosity and crystallinity (Figure 3) structure. Due to the fact that there are anatase nanoparticles in the glaze, it is promising having antibacterial activity [17]. This phenomenon investigated by  ½ McFarland method as wrote in experimental procedure at end of section 2.3. In this case it has been shown achieving stable nanostructural anatase is not enough for antibacterial activity [18]. In fact, anatase must be excited by Ultraviolet illumination. This tile has just about 35% bacteriostatic which is not significant comparison by naked eye and it needs to measure by microscope. This result is very low in comparison with other components which had more than 95% [13]. It would be obvious that titania at glaze initially melted and then solidification carried out in the form of anatase. The increase zeolite anti-bacteria agent is prepared by achieving smaller anatase particles and better distribution which can be realized by chemistry of glass network. However, due to the fact that propose of this research was just opacity, this result also is very interesting and beyond our goal. 4. Conclusion Natural zeolite is a new mineral source for construction and ceramic glass materials. Our research showed that zeolite is economically expedient to use natural zeolite for fabricating opaque glaze. Indeed natural zeolite led to stabilized nano crystalline of anatase. This glaze has potential for antibacterial tiles. Initial investigation showed potential of antibacterial activity if this kind of products in a cost-effective way. References [1] Demirkiran AÃ…Å ¾, R. Artir, and E. Avci. Effect of natural zeolite addition on sintering kinetics of porcelain bodies. Journal of materials processing technology. 2008;203(1-3):465-70. [2] Beals M, et al Study of Particle Size of the Opacifying Phase in Titania Enamels: I, Change of Particle Size with Change of Concentration of Dissolved TiO2. Journal of the American Ceramic Society. 1951;45(1):403. [3] Bish DLaJWC. Thermal behavior of natural zeolites. Reviews in mineralogy and geochemistry. 2001;45(1):403. [4] Bou E, et al. Microstructural study of opaque glazes obtained from frits of the system: SiO2-Al2O3-B2O3-(P2O5)-CaO-K2O-TiO2. Journal of the European Ceramic Society. 2007;27 (2-3):1791-6. [5] Casasola R, J. Rincà ³n, and M. Romero. Glass–ceramic glazes for ceramic tiles: a review. Journal of Materials Science. 2012;47(2):553-82. [6] Eppler R. Crystallization and Phase Transformation in TiO2 Opacified Porcelain Enamels: 11, Cornparison of Theory with Experiment. Journal of the American Ceramic Society. 1969;52(2):94-9. [7] Diop MaMG. Sodium silicate activated clay brick. Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment. 2008;67(4):499-505. [8] Osman Gencel a, Mucahit Sutcu b, Ertugrul Erdogmus c, Vahdettin Koc d, Vedat Veli Cay e,, Gok MS. Properties of bricks with waste ferrochromium slag and zeolite. Journal of Cleaner Production 2013;59 111-9. [9] Hanaor DaC, Sorrell. Review of the anatase to rutile phase transformation. Journal of Materials Science. 2011;46(4):855-74. [10] Pekkan KaBK. Production of opaque frits with low ZrO2 and ZnO contents and their industrial uses for fast single-fired wall tile glazes. Journal of Materials Science. 2009;44(10):2533-40. [11] Pogrebenkov VM, Sedelnikova MB, Vereshchagin VI. Zeolites: Raw material for ceramic pigments. Glass and Ceramics. 1998;55(1-2):55-6. [12] Pogrebenkov VM, E.D. Melnik, and V.I. Vereshchagin,. Use of Siberian mineral raw materials in the manufacture of self-glazing ceramic tile. Glass and Ceramics. 1997;54(11-12):373-5. [13] Ghafarinzari A, Moztarzadeh F, Rabiee SM, Rajabloo T, Mozafari M, Tayebi L. Antibacterial activity of silver photodeposited nepheline thin film coatings. Ceramics International. 2012;38(7):5445-51. [14] Teixeira SaAMB. Development of TiO2 white glazes for ceramic tiles. Dyes and Pigments. 2009;80(3):292-6. [15] Frost BR, K.R. Chamberlain, and J.C. Schumacher, Sphene (titanite): phase relations and role as a geochronometer. Chemical Geology. 2001;172(1–2):131-48. [16] Larlus O, et al. Silicalite-1/polymer films with low-k dielectric constants. Applied Surface Science. 2004;226(1-3):155-60. [17] Saeki Y. Application of Antibacterial and Self-Cleaning Effects to Noncementitious Construction Materials. Applications of Titanium Dioxide Photocatalysis to Construction Materials: Springer; 2011. p. 17-22. [18] Niederhà £usern S, Bondi M, Bondioli F. Selfà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ Cleaning and Antibacteric Ceramic Tile Surface. International Journal of Applied Ceramic Technology. 2012. Figure captures Figure1 FESEM of glaze with 10wt% zircon. Figure2 FESEM of standard frit with a) 5 and b) 10wt% titania Figure3. XRD from Iranian natural zeolite Figure4. FESEM of standard frit containing 10wt% natural zeolite Figure5. FESEM of standard frit containing 3wt% TiO2 and 7wt% Zeolite; a) morphology of crystal is in range of 25 – 500 nm, in average of 85 nm; b) fine distribution of crystals. Figure6. FESEM of standard frit containing 3wt% TiO2 and 7wt% kaolin Table captures Table1. Composition of the standard frit Table2. Results of spectrophotometer and glossiness 1 à ¯Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ ºÃƒ ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ªÃƒ ¯Ã‚ Ã‚  Corresponding author. Tel.: +39 3886598606 E-mail address: [emailprotected] (A. Ghafarinazari)

The Staging Techniques and Design Aspects of Silas Marner :: George Eliot Theatre Drama Plays Essays

The Staging Techniques and Design Aspects of Silas Marner A production of George Eliot's novel Silas Marner was held at the "clwyd theatr cyrmru". The Theatre itself is only small but this was used to the best advantage. The novel attempts to prove that love of others is more fulfilling than love of money. The play is set on what appears to be a simple thrust stage, with a simple sky cyclorama. The cyclorama although with a simple design over powered the stage, as the characters shadows where projected on the cyclorama and changed size depending on there positioning on the stage. Often Silas Marner is criticized for being such a simple, unrealistic story. It does seem odd that after fifteen years of almost solitary confinement, Silas can trade his love of gold for his love of a daughter overnight. This point about silas's love for gold is a powerful theme in the play, and needs to be to create the narrative. Heavy representation is used in making one see that Silas has a love for gold, at the same time one needs to know that he is a lonely weaver. This is a difficult situation that the director had to face, but worked perfectly. The Arena stage was revolving and as the theatre was small all the cast stayed round the stage even if they weren't performing. This is an unusual technique as usually too many people on the stage at once may create a clutter. At the edge of the stage benches were placed evenly where the cast sat when they weren't performing. This must have been difficult for the actual actors, as they would have to be performing at all times, even when they are of the stage. The benches in a way turned the actors in the audience. This made it feel that the cast where still; in character and watching over the action. Silas Marner is set in a small village and villages have a representation for knowing all the gossip about everyone in the town. This technique of the cast watching over the performance increased the awareness that the play is set in a village. The cast had another role to play once of the actual stage as they played the instruments that where clearly on show to the whole audience. The musical instruments where rather old fashioned rather than modern electrical instruments. I think that this audio was used to create the setting of the play as electrical instruments would bring it too much into the future. The atmosphere of the cast being on the stage playing the instruments again gave the stereotypical village

Developing Promotional Strategies for Horticultural Products Essay

INTRODUCTION. The horticulture sub-sector of agriculture in Kenya has grown in the last decade to become a major foreign exchange earner, employer and contributor to food needs in the country. Currently the horticulture industry is the fastest growing agricultural subsector in the country and is ranked third in terms of foreign exchange earnings from exports after tourism and tea. Fruits, vegetable and cut flower production are the main aspects of horticultural production in Kenya. In this write up, the horticultural products I will focus on are coriander, courgettes, cabbage, kales, spinach, indigenous vegetables like ‘terere’ and ‘managu’, ginger, garlic, tomatoes and onions. These products will be directly sourced from my farm in Kitengela. IDENTIFICATION OF THE INNATE ANS ACQUIRED NEEDS According to Boyd (2010) humans become motivated when a need is aroused that they have a desire to satisfy. These needs can be physiological also known as innate e.g need for food, water, sex and cloths or they could be acquired needs which are learnt in response to an individual’s culture or surroundings e.g need for affection, self esteem or prestige. The above mentioned horticultural products are food products that satisfy needs in the first level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs i.e the physiological needs. Moreover, through the right packaging and promotion of these products, the acquired needs will be satisfied. THE PROMOTIONAL STRATEGIES BASED ON THESE NEEDS Organizations use promotion to communicate with customers about products they offer because promotion is one half of the communication process with customers. It works co-operatively with market research in an iterative feedback loop so that the constantly changing requirements of users are met by promotional activities that target or even anticipate these expressed needs. Promotion involves making sure that customers are aware of the products that the organization makes available to them. The objective of my promotional strategy is to provide information about my products, increase demand for these products and to differentiate the product. I will design different advertising messages to be placed in certain magazines like healthy eating magazines as well as Saturday Nation newspaper magazine and television advertisment. Moreover, through the social media i.e twitter and face book I will advertise my products. These adverts will focus on the benefits that clients will get on consump tion of my products. The advert will be designed in such a way that it brings out the different innate and acquired needs that will be met. People have to eat and eat good food that is well presented, I will therefore, do word of mouth advertising and attend networking forums for horticultural products e.g the annual horticultural exhibitions says Wu (2012). As I display my products, I will ensure they are well packaged in clean, labeled packages so that as my purchase my products they are satisfied with the packaging thus meeting both their innate and acquired needs. According to Stern and Adel (1988), word-of-mouth is one of the most credible forms of advertising because people who don’t stand to gain personally by promoting something put their reputations on the line every time they make a recommendation. In the utilization of word of mouth advertising, I will incorporate brand advocates in this word of mouth ad. I will use personal selling as well. This will be one to one communication with a potential buyer. In this case the potential buyers I will focus on for personal selling are the restaurants, schools, hospitals and hotels. I will therefore, employ the use of sales men and use experiential marketing in this case. I will hire a tele-marketing researcher who will make follow up calls to clients who purchase my products to get their feedback on areas that I need to improve on as the researcher identifies their unspoken needs as well as their spoken needs. REFERENCES Boyd, J.C (2010). Consumer Psychology. England:Open University Press. Stern .L. W. & Adel I. E.(1988) Marketing Channels. Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice Hall Inc. Wu, J. M ( 2012) Consumer Perception of quality for horticultural products and related agricultural practices. Ontario:Guelph.

My IB chemistry research project Essay

Molecular gastronomy is often thought about in the way of cooking in terms of chemical transformations within food. The real meaning behind molecular gastronomy is a practiced cooking method used both scientists and food professionals that study the physical and chemical processes that occur while cooking. [Feast for the Eyes] Molecular gastronomy seeks to investigate and explain the chemical reasons behind the transformation of ingredients, as well as the social, artistic and technical components of culinary. [Food for Tomorrow?] By studying this topic, it can be applied to the real world, by the means of the whole process of preparing, eating, sensing, and enjoying food involves tremendously on complex chemistry, physics, and biochemistry. Within the lab, I’ll perform control experiments. To complete this experiment, I will cook several versions of the same dish with slight variations, followed by a blind tasting to see if the variations are significant. My IB chemistry IRP will be laid out in this EDD form. Introduction- Research Question: Can we devise new cooking methods that produce unusual and improved results on the texture and flavor of food? * Application Statement: The purpose of this experiment is to determine new culinary technique to create a new and uncommon and enhanced outcome to food. The whole process of preparing, eating, sensing, and enjoying food involves tremendously complex chemistry, physics, and biochemistry. For years, a new culinary trend called ‘molecular cooking’ has been touted as the most exciting development in haute cuisine. [Culinate – Eat to Your Ideal] Molecular Gastronomy will be the change to how we perceive food to our taste buds, and how it will affect the mood we’re in. [Kitchen Chemistry] * Hypothesis: If we are trying to change a main ingredient and the way we cook the dish in a very appetizing dish by adding a new or odd element and new culinary catering skill, then I think that the flavor and texture of the dish made with the new cooking ingredient/cooking method will taste better then the original and have a positive effect on the mood of the taste tester. * Independent Variable (I.V.): The main ingredient of a dish and food preparation process * Dependent Variable (D.V.): The effect of the finished cuisine has on the tester, and how the texture/flavor have changed from the original dish. * Constants (C.V.): * * Same cooking Pan * Same Food products * All the same utensils * For the olives: * 1/2 cup oil-cured black olives, pitted and finely chopped * 1 tablespoon agave nectar, or light maple syrup * 1 teaspoon sugar * Salt * For the fennel: * 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil * 2 tablespoons butter * Blind Fold * 1 large bulb fennel, trimmed and cut lengthwise into 8 pieces with the core intact * Salt and freshly ground black pepper * Cup dry white wine * 2 to 3 cups chicken broth * 1 teaspoons honey * 20 raisins * For the snapper: 4 (6-ounce) skin-on red snapper fillets, deboned * Salt * 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil * Passion-fruit vinegar (optional). * Beef * Variety of veggies * Procedure: 1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees. On a parchment-lined baking sheet, stir together the olives, agave nectar, sugar and a pinch of salt. Cook for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. (They will be sticky.) Let cool. They can be stored in a cool, dry place for several days. 2. Place the oil and butter in a medium-size heavy saucepan set over medium-high heat. Once the butter starts to brown, add the fennel. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until the fennel begins to color around the edges, 2 to 3 minutes. 3. Add the wine, bring to a boil and let reduce by half. Pour in at least 2 cups chicken broth to almost cover the fennel. Stir in the honey and raisins. Bring to a boil over high heat, then lower the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the tip of a paring knife easily pierces the core of the fennel, 20 to 25 minutes. Season the broth and fennel with salt to taste. 4. When ready to serve, generously season the fish on all sides with salt. Pour the oil in a large nonstick skillet set over high heat. When the oil is hot, add a piece of fish, skin-side down, pressing on the flesh with a fish spatula for the first few seconds to keep it from curling. Repeat with the remaining pieces. Cook until the edges of the skin are golden and three-fourths of the flesh turns opaque, 4 to 5 minutes. Flip and cook for an additional 1 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate lined with a paper towel. 5. To serve, place two pieces of fennel, 2 to 3 tablespoons of the braising liquid and a few raisins in the center of a shallow bowl. Lay the fish, skin-side up, against the fennel and place about 1 tablespoon of the candied olives on top. If desired, drizzle the edge of the plate with a few drops of passion-fruit vinegar. 6. Repeat steps two through nine as trial two and three, but with the ingredient of beef and veggies, instead of red snapper. 7. Have tester be blindfolded and have them taste the variety of food after each trial, and record data. 8. Once done clean up area and dispose of dirty ingredients/ package up non-used food. Data Collecting & Processing- Data Table: Flavor of the dish before and after cooking on scale of Bad (1) to excellent (10). Testers Trial 1 (Fish) Before After Trial 2 (Beef) Before After Trial 3 (Veggies) Before After Texture Test Before and after the cooking on scale of soft (1)- rough (10). Testers Trial 1 Before After Trial 2 Before After Trial 3 Before After Qualitative Data: Quantitative Data: Conclusion & Evaluation: Since I will complete this experiment, I hopefully will be able to conclude and make a distinct correlation on how ingredients are changed by different cooking methods, how all the senses play their own roles in our appreciation of food, how cooking methods affect the eventual flavor and texture of food ingredients, how new cooking methods might produce improved results of texture and flavor, how our enjoyment of food is affected by other influences, our environment, our mood, how it is presented, who prepares it. Work Cited Barham, Peter. â€Å"Kitchen Chemistry: Taste and Flavour Facts – Feature – Discovery Channel.† Discovery Channel International. Web. 13 Oct. 2010. . Crain, Liz. â€Å"Edible Experiments – A Norwegian Blogger Goes Molecular :: by Liz Crain :: Culinate.† Culinate – Eat to Your Ideal. 9 Aug. 2007. Web. 14 Nov. 2010. . Goldberg, Elyssa. â€Å"Feast for the Eyes: Molecular Gastronomy Puts Chemistry to Work in the Kitchen.† Columbia Daily Spectator | News, Sports, and Entertainment Coverage for Morningside Heights. Web. 14 Dec. 2010. . MUHLKE, CHRISTINE. â€Å"Too Cool for School.† New York Times. 30 Sept. 2007. Web. 12 Sept. 2010. . This, Hervà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½. â€Å"Food for Tomorrow? : Article : EMBO Reports.† Nature Publishing Group : Science Journals, Jobs, and Information. July-Aug. 1999. Web. 10 Oct. 2010. .