Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Does the responsibility to protect satisfactorily address the moral Essay

Does the responsibility to protect satisfactorily address the moral and political dilemmas posed by humanitarian intervention consider with reference to various perspectives - Essay Example The responsibility to react dimension stipulates that different situations compelling human need should be answered with appropriate measures such as military intervention. Further, the responsibility to rebuild dimension requires the provision of full assistance in situations of crisis. In most cases, the undertaking of these dimensions necessitates the need for humanitarian intervention. Many human rights activists see humanitarian intervention as a good thing since it appears to enact a commitment to the emancipatory ideals of freedom from oppression, respect for human dignity and valuing of human life (Orford 2003, p.34) However, humanitarian intervention brings in some moral and political dilemmas such as the possibility of infringement of sovereign rights of a given state and its national interest or the justification for the need for such intervention (Chesterman, 2001). In general, humanitarian intervention does not meet all of the requirements of a just war doctrine, lending credence to the argument that the legitimacy of this intervention in its totality questionable. However, the observance of discrimination and proportionality principles, the prohibition of use of armed force against another sovereign state except for self defense and enforcement measures endorsed by the Security Council in Chapter VII of the Charter; and the goal of stopping grave violations of human rights satisfactorily address the ethical and political dilemmas posed by humanitarian

Monday, October 28, 2019

Marketing Concepts at the Starbucks Company

Marketing Concepts at the Starbucks Company EXECUTIVE SUMMARY It has been argued by some people that they think marketing contributes to evils appearing in the world caused by the criticism referring to the effects caused by advertising. None of the critics are true because marketing is about finding the best strategy for gathering information about how consumers behave in the market providing those products that could satisfy their needs and wants when they are needed at that particular time such goods should be of good quality. This report will give a clear understanding of what marketing is all about its elements, benefits and costs of a marketing approach in todays business. The Micro and Macro environment concept the factors that influence marketing decisions. Segmentation criteria used for product in different markets. Factors influencing the choice of targeting strategy and the concept of buyer behaviour affecting marketing activities. How product development helps to sustain competitive advantage also process of how distribution can be arranged to provide customer convenience. DEFINITION OF MARKETING Introduction Researchers such as Chartered Institute of marketing came out with the conclusion that marketing in United Kingdom has changed rapidly in the last 30 years which is due to the advanced technology. Customers are the centre heart of the marketing, where by marketing is not only about selling the products, organisations need to have a clear picture of marketing concept and the importance of it in meeting the organisation objectives. Different authors came out with their own definitions of marketing as follows; Marketing is a human activity directed at satisfying human wants and needs Phillip Kotler, He finalise that marketing involve the process of selling and buying the products or services which is conducted in a professional way such as through advertising, promotions, social networks etc that aims at meeting the customers satisfaction.  [1]   The American Marketing of Association came out also with the definition of marketing saying that is an activity which set institutions that is processed to create a message that could be delivered to the customers also exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large. The American Marketing of Association  [2]  . They have viewed that marketing is about going beyond what organisation does encompassing the great extent of activities that marketers undertake making sure their message is about certain product or services reach the customers that is marketing. P. Kotler and G Armstrong defined marketing as the process were by companies tend to create products of value for customers and building strong customer relationships in order to capture the value from customers in return  [3]  . Principles of marketing page 3. Authors came out with this definition due to that fact that marketing is not only involving on selling and buying it includes social and managerial process too where individuals and organisation as well can obtain their needs and wants through the process of exchanging value with others. American Marketing Association 1985 came out again with another definition of marketing which they said that is a process of planning by executing the process of pricing, planning and distribution of ideas that goods and services could create exchange that satisfy individual and organisational objectives. They explained that marketing is a process which is performed within the organisation  [4]  . Marketing strategy and competitive positioning pg 7 CHARACTERISTICS OF A MARKETING ORIENTED ORGANISATION Kohli and Jaworski (1990) defined marketing orientation as one or more departments engaging in activities directed towards the process of developing an understanding of customers such as their buying behaviour which is current and future needs and the factors affecting them, sharing of this understanding across departments and the various departments engaging in activities designed to meet select customer needs.  [5]  Marketing strategy and competitive positioning pg 8 It is argued that social and economic justification of customer wants and needs while at the same time meeting organisational objectives which is based on understanding that a sale does not depend on aggressive sales force, but rather on a customer decision to purchase a product  [6]  Introduction to Marketing 9th Edition pg 8. Characteristics of a marketing oriented organisation are as follows. Concentrates on the products that meets the customer needs and wants which are different from their competitors. Integrating the activities conducted within the organisation such as production to satisfy such wants. Making sure long-term goals are being achieved within the organisation by satisfying customer wants and needs legally and in a response way. A market oriented organisation need to identify their competitive arena and competitors which by knowing their strength and weakness which is assessing what the competitors are intending to do in the future or tomorrow and what they are doing today that could help the organisation to come out with better strategy to win the market share. MARKETING CONCEPT Felton (1959) defined marketing concept as a corporate state of mind that exists on the integration and co-ordination of all the marketing functions which, in turn, are melded with all other corporate functions, for the basic objective of producing long-range profits. It is characterised by achieving organisational goals which depends on identifying he needs and wants of the target markets and making sure desired satisfaction of the customer are delivered in an effective and efficient way than what competitors do. Kotler ELEMENTS OF MARKETING CONCEPT IN STARBUCKS COMPANY Starbucks is a leading retail company selling different flavours of coffee, snacks, to its customers. It started in US in 1971 then opened more branches in across all over UK high streets having 650 stores in UK and Ireland in 1998. Starbucks is targeting all kind of group such as young age, middle age also old age. Starbucks as one of the example showing how they have described the elements of marketing concept in their organisation which are customer orientation, organisation integration and mutually profitable exchange. CUSTOMER ORIENTATION MARKETING ENVIRONMENT IN STARBUCKS. An organisation can be structured in the certain ways that implements the goal of the organisation such factors can be interfered externally which is termed as Macro environment and internally known by Micro environment. Environment can change due to certain circumstances where by the organisation such as Starbucks can manage such change by having marketing plans, proper promotion, well distribution manner and proper pricing method in advance in case changes happened. Macro environment analysis These are the forces that affect the organisation externally in a very large part such as political, economical, social and technological (PEST) Political Factor This is relating to the huge amount of tax imposed to the business by the government which tend to interfere the organisation activities when it wants to maximise its profit. Political factor from other branches in other countries where could be wars, dictatorial government, civil wars that may influence the marketing environment of the organisation. Also laws imposed to the organisation where by the government restricting shops from selling alcohol at certain time, ethics practice child labour, health and safety, fair trade etc which organisations need to practice them. Economical Factor Economic factors such as recession which hard a big impact to the different organisations also to the consumer ability to purchase their product due to been unemployed and having debts. As UK joined European Union introduced free movement of goods and services that result to the occurrence of competitions among the organisation. The way income is distributed among the individuals impact the marketing activities such as higher income earners, middle and low earners these are economic factor influence marketing segmentation and decisions. Social factor Social factors that influence marketing decisions are such as demographic factors which is relating to the population where when the population increases creates good opportunity for the marketing activities but if it decreases results to great impact in the market. Age, marketers tend to target their market according to the number of age available in an area. Behaviour also may influence the marketing decision where by some ethnics may not be able to purchase certain products due religion aspects also due to consumers different in taste, style and fashion some may like the products others may find them not attractive. Technological factor This is spread of advance technology which is changing the world in rapid state where now consumers can buy their products online; or decide to but coffee machines and make their own coffee at home organisation can market their products through various social networks such as Facebook, Twitter which are being used by the people regularly such factors does influence marketing decisions when they decide to plan their marketing activities. PORTERS FIVE FORCES Porters Five Forces Model can be used by the company to identify its opportunities and threats of their competitors. Starbucks can use such model to be able to enter new reach markets. Starbucks has few competitors such a Cafe Nero, Costa coffee, Coffee republic such find it hard to compete with Starbucks due to that Starbucks have got good opportunity in the volume of operations. Starbucks is the leading coffee retailer in the world having good brand. (Kembell). Threats that Starbucks faces are cities that have small number of population due to having low number of competitors that Starbucks find it hard to compete. Starbucks is well known in the coffee market for its innovation and strong product differentiation. Starbucks has introduced the prepaid debit card; Seattles Best launched its version. STAKEHOLDERS ANALYSIS Stakeholder is any person who has the direct or indirect interest in the company. Examples of stakeholders are customers, suppliers, government, employees, other agencies etc. Stakeholders are of the great importance to any organisation without them the organisation wont be able be able to survive, their needs need to be met by organisations such operating marketing activities in ethical way, abiding to the laws and regulations regarding to business, protecting the environment from any harm, they can manage to sustain the marketing activities etc If such needs are not fulfilled they have the power to cause destruction in the marketing plan and decisions.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Cyber Bullying Essay -- Why we must stop cyberbullying

The rise in technology has influenced our lives with the use of social networking sites and electronic devices predominant with today’s youth. What many adults are unaware of is bullying exists in many forms and is more common in the cyber world. In 2012, CBC news reporter Joan Leishman , aired â€Å"Cyber-bullying,† she describes a story about a student named David Knight’s unbearable life entering the Internet. Later in 2014, Rachel Simmons, a former Rhodes Scholar and the founding director of the Girls Leadership Institute, wrote an article titled â€Å"Cyberbullying Is a Growing Problem.† Simmons article addressed the impact of cyber bullying in the 21st century and actions school officials and parents overlooked when they are unaware of their child’s Internet activities. The increasing use of social network sites like Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and numerous others allows bullies to go beyond verbal bullying to become cyber bullies. Leishman takes a closer look into a victim of cyber bullying and interviews David, from Burlington, Ont., about his life living through cyber bullying. In David’s case, bullying did not begin on the Internet, but at school. The taunting, teasing, and punching for years later led to harassments on the Internet, including the humiliation and unbearable struggle David had to endure. David was uninformed about what someone put on the Internet about him until his classmates sent him a message on the Internet. David’s life took a drastic turn when he found an entire website dedicated to him where he is made fun of with photos and vile comments. Not only was David’s humiliation starting to escalate, but also the cyber bully asked others to evoke the same insults by posting lewd and sexual comments. D... ... our ideas where people cannot actual see you. The surge of technology creates enablers of cyber bullying, who do not have to approach their victim directly, but resort to online communication without any interference. I think cyber bullying is a way of cyber bullies not apprehended for their actions, and consequences are not used; since, adults are not there to actually see the bully and the victim unless in person. Cyber bullying inflicts harm on the individual causing the individual humiliated in front of the global web where people are constantly conversing and looking up stuff on the Internet. Works Cited Leishman, Joan. "CBC News Indepth: Bullying." CBCnews. CBC/Radio Canada, 10 Oct. 2012. Web. 02 Mar. 2015. Simmons, Rachel. "Cyberbullying Is a Growing Problem." Policing the Internet. The Washington Post Company, 28 Sept. 2014. Web. 19 Feb. 2015.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Performance Management systems Essay

1. What is the main goal of a Performance Management System? Performance management systems are designed to improve both individual and organisational performance by identifying what skills are needed to perform a role, providing regular feedback and assisting the employees in their career development. The overall aim is to equip staff with the competencies and commitment to deliver on shared organisational goals . 2. Why is it necessary to develop and implement a Performance Management System? A well developed performance management system assist to develop staff and can result in significantly improved output and performance, which ultimately leads to improved results for the organisation. Without a well developed and implemented performance management system, an organisation can risk poor staff performance and a high turnover of staff due to lack of support. 3. What are the three stages of Performance Management? †¢ planning for performance – setting performance goals, establishing performance standards and setting performance expectations, identifying developmental goals in work (action) plans †¢ performance appraisal – observing, documenting and assessing performance †¢ performance improvement – providing regular feedback, review performance appraisal, rewarding excellent performance 4. List the four groups who are involved in Performance Management? †¢ your team †¢ you, as a supervisor †¢ human resource professional †¢ union representatives. 5. Why is it necessary to ensure that performance management and review processes are consistent with business objectives and policies? Staff performance plans must be based on the overall aims and objectives of the organisation so as to ensure that each staff member is working cohesively towards the same goal. They must also adhere to organisational policies so as to ensure that they are fair and consistent across the organisation. This also assures that they comply with legislation (that is, presuming that the policies set out stipulate this). 6. Write a paragraph explaining why you think performance evaluations are necessary and the method/s that you consider best to be utilized. I think the importance of performance evaluations is twofold. In my experience, working in an extremely under-resourced organisation, it has been very difficult for me in the past to gain feedback from my supervisors about my performance. One to one time with a manager is rare. This has at times resulted in frustration because I have felt as though I have not been able to gain direction in my work. I fear that at times this may be the case for the staff that I supervise also. Therefore, I believe that on one level performance management systems are extremely important as a method of support for staff. On a more obvious note, performance management systems can also lead to improved output and performance of individuals, which ultimately leads to improved results for the organisation. In terms of what method I believe to be most effective, I believe that there are some core principles that must be followed. The plans should be developed with staff so as to ensure owndership, implementation must be consistent and timely (3 month reviews shouldn’t be undertaken at 7 months! ). 7. Why is it important that both managers and employees receive suitable training in how to handle performance review interviews? Without training about how to handle performance review interviews, there is a very big risk that the appraisal will not be effective and even more concerning is that it could prove counterproductive and damage the supervisor/employee relationship. Training equips managers and team leaders with skills to conduct positive appraisals. It assist employees to understand the new relationships and how performance issues are openly discussed and resolved. Training sessions also can assist employee to see how their work links to the goals of the organisation. 8. Explain why and how often you think performance appraisals should be held? I believe performance appraisals should be held after 3 months in a role and then every 6 months following this. I write this in the context of the organisation for which I work. One to one time with your manager is difficult in our organisation and I believe that in the past this has led to staff feeling very unsupported. There has been quite a high turnover of staff in some programs and I believe that this could be addressed by stronger support systems in place from management. While some may argue that appraisals at such regular intervals can be difficult for managers to implement due to time constraints, I believe firmly that this investment will be returned in increased staff output. 9. Why is it important to recognize the contribution of your work group members and why should you do this? Recognising the contribution of group members is an important method of motivating staff. It reinforces positive contributions and shows their importance to the organisation. If the contribution of staff members is not recognised, it risks losing the motivation of a team who may feel that their work is for no purpose and is not appreciated. We all need a thanks! 10. List three pieces of legislation that are related to performance management †¢ Fair Work Act (2009) †¢ Workplace Health and Safety Act (1995) †¢ Awards/Enterprise Bargaining Agreements/Union Collective Agreements. 11. How would you devise a training plan incorporating both monitoring and coaching for individuals with poor performance? It is important to spend time to time to try and understand why a staff member may have poor performance. This is important in determining what action to take – be that formal training or coaching. The following points – from the course book – I would certainly include in any coaching I was to undertake: †¢Good coaches challenge employees and ask questions that help the employee to discover how to improve. †¢Coach when you wish to focus attention on any specific aspect of the employee’s performance. †¢A coaching meeting should focus on just one or two aspects of performance. †¢Any more than that and employees won’t remember the main impact of your meeting. †¢Keep coaching conversations brief and between 5 to 10 minutes long. †¢Being an effective coach requires understanding what motivates the members of your team. Remember that people are motivated in different ways. Be sensitive to the things that drive your people to perform. †¢When things are performing well, take the time to understand what is working and why. †¢Good coaching is guiding, not telling or doing. †¢Allow the employee to own the problem and its solutions. Ask them: ‘How finally feels as though she is getting somewhere. In terms of monitoring, I would plan more regular catch ups with the staff member (perhaps monthly) to discuss progress. I would continue to implement reviews at the times stipulated by organisational policy. I would also ask for regular feedback from the staff member. 12. How can you provide support services if required? †¢Provide details of union representatives †¢HR representative details †¢Training options †¢Set up future one-to-one meetings †¢Work manuals †¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"buddy† system in which staff member is teed up with competent staff member 13. If the individual continues to perform below expectations what process would be necessary to implement? If the poor performance continues, it may be necessary to give a written warning to the staff member. This is discussed further in question 20. 14. Why is it necessary to document and record performance? Documenting and recording performance can lower the risk if a person chooses to challenge a negative appraisal. Holding records of poor performance may assist to cover an organisation legally if the employee raises an unfair dismissal claim Documenting good performance is also important so as to avoid claims of favouritism for example of undeserving staff members. Documenting performance also makes it much easier when the time for appraisals comes around, particularly for managers who are managing a large number of staff. 15. Explain the term â€Å"interpersonal conflict† Interpersonal conflict is the most apparent form of conflict for workplace participants. It is a disagreement or differing views between two or more people over a particular idea, thought, or action.. Also language and personality styles often clash, which can create conflict in the workplace. ref http://www. mediate. com/articles/donaisB2. cfm 16. How does interpersonal conflict affect the workplace? Interpersonal conflict is is easy enough to observe in the form of office politics, gossip, and rumours. It can lead to a negative work environment, with groups forming within the workplace. Unless these conflicts are resolved, they can lead to a very challenging and unfriendly workplace. In more extreme cases, interpersonal conflict can lead to charges of harassment and discrimination or at least the feeling that such things exist.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest Essay

1. What does the play say about marriage? The play says many things about marriage.   One is that marriage can be quite complicated when there is deceit even if the feelings involved are genuine.   Another is that there are so many trivial things that society considers â€Å"important† that disregards the true meaning of marriage.   Another is that parental consent and money still play an important role in matrimony. 2. What is the significance of the names? The word Earnest means sincere. However, the play showed how that sincerity is downplayed by the many trivial things that society expects from individuals.   Ms. Prism’s name is also significant because it was her character that finally shed light on the true background of Jack – who later became truly Earnest. 3. Suggest some of the things that Wilde is poking fun at in this play. Wilde made fun of the way women can be so assuming of relationships as can be seen with Cecily’s account of how she and Algy became engaged and how Gwendolyn fled from her mother to go to Jack.   The author also made fun of the way society can be deceived by many aspects of a person beside his true self (e.g. names and money).   This was especially evident in the way the name Earnest became so important that Algy and Jack had wanted to be re-baptized with it. Marriage was also funny because it gave too much importance on money and family background before it considers the true person. 4. What is your favorite character and why? I loved the character of Ms. Prism because at first she seemed to be only a minor character but in the end, the story actually centered on her misgivings.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Alcoholics Anonymous Essays - Alcoholics Anonymous, Free Essays

Alcoholics Anonymous Essays - Alcoholics Anonymous, Free Essays Alcoholics Anonymous Defining "Alcoholics Anonymous" Following is the definition of A.A. appearing in the Fellowship?s basic literature and cited frequently at meetings of A.A. groups: Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength, and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. There are no dues of fees for A.A. membership; they are self-supporting through their own contributions. A.A is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization, of institution; does not wish to engage in any controversy; neither endorses nor opposes any causes. Their primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety. Alcoholics Anonymous can also be defined as an informal society of more than 2,000,000 recovered alcoholics in the United States, Canada, and other countries. These men and women meet in local groups, which range in size from a handful in some localities to many hundreds in larger communities. Membership Because A.A. has never attempted to keep formal membership lists, it is extremely difficult to obtain completely accurate figures on total membership at any given time. Some local groups are not listed with the US/Canada General Service Office. Others do not provide membership data, thus are not recorded on the G.S.O. computer records. The membership figures listed below are based on reports to the General Service Office as of January 1, 1996, plus an average allowance for groups that have not reported their membership. There is no practical way of counting members who are not affiliated with a local group. Estimated A.A. Membership and Group Information Groups in US.50,671 Members in US1,153,795 Groups in Canada5,259 Members in Canada..97,397 Groups Overseas..37,082 Members Overseas614,466 Internationalists. 145 ~Groups in Correctional Facilities~ US/Canada..2,154 Lone Members333 Internationalists~Aproximately 145 persons in naval science or the merchant marines on sea duty describe themselves as "A.A. Internationalists." Staff members of the US/Canada General service Office correspond with those members and make it possible for them to correspond with each other. Internationalists have been responsible for starting and encouraging local A.A. groups in many foreign ports. Loners~ Some 33 men and women living in isolated areas throughout the world, (or in areas where it has not been possible to form a local group), are listed at the G.S.O. of the US/Canada as Lone Members. Many achieved sobriety solely through A.A literature. They correspond with G.S.O. and with their counterparts in other sections of the world. In a number of cases, notably U.S. military installations overseas, Loners have been responsible for establishing local groups. Historical Data: The Birth of A.A. and it?s Growth in U.S./Canada A.A. had it?s beginnings in 1935 at Akron, Ohio, as the outcome of a meeting between Bill W., a New York stockbroker, and Dr. Bob S., an Akron surgeon. Both had been hopeless alcoholics. Prior to that time, Bill and Dr. Bob had each been in contact with the Oxford Group, a mostly nonalcoholic fellowship that emphasized universal spiritual values in daily living. In that period, the Oxford Groups in America were headed by the noted Episcopal clergyman, Dr. Samuel Shoemaker. Under this spiritual influence, and with the help of an old-time friend, Ebby T., Bill had gotten sober and had then maintained his recovery by working with other alcoholics, though none of these actually recovered. Meanwhile, Dr. Bob?s Oxford Group membership at Akron helped enough to achieve sobriety. When Dr. Bob and Bill finally met, the effect on the doctor was immediate. This time, he found himself face to face with a fellow sufferer who had made good. Bill emphasized that alcoholism was a malady of mind, emotions, and body. This all-important fact he had learned from Dr. William D. Silkworth of Towns Hospital in New York, where Bill had often been a patient. Through a physician, Dr. Bob had not known alcoholism to be a disease. Responding to Bill?s convincing ideas, he soon got sober, never to drink again. The founding spark of A.A. had been struck. Both men immediately set to work with alcoholics at Akron?s City Hospital, where one patient quickly achieved complete sobriety. Though the name Alcoholics Anonymous had not yet been coined, these three men actually made up the nucleus of the first A.A. group. In the fall of 1935, a

Monday, October 21, 2019

Responding To Customer Complaints On Social Media

Responding To Customer Complaints On Social Media You’re human. Mistakes will happen. Nothing is perfect and something will go wrong. Not every customer will be satisfied. This is not a failure. The best businesses are the ones that mess up and show how they fix their mistakes. They build their customer’s trust and prove they are listening to them. When a significant other makes a mistake and owns up to it, do you dump them because they messed up or do forgive them and trust them more because they were honest? Depending on the situation, you’ll forgive them and that will make your relationship stronger. It’s similar with business. Mistakes happen, but when a business owns up to it and apologizes, they’ll build a better relationship with the customer. Listen To Your Customer Complaints When customers complain, sometimes they just want someone to hear them out. They had a poor experience, and no matter how big or small it was, the least you can do is listen. What do you learn when you listen? You find out about problems that would have created more dissatisfied customers in the future. When you listen to a customer, you have an opportunity to establish a relationship with that customer. By listening to them, youll let them know you care. Just because a customer is upset doesnt mean they are a lost cause, or gone forever. Regardless of the size of the issue, let the customer know you heard their problem and understand their frustration. One of my first jobs was a clerk at a small drug store/gift shop. I was 16 and terrified when customers complained because I had no idea what to do and no authority to do anything about it. This is when I discovered if I let a customer vent their frustrations to me and apologize for their poor experience, they would always leave happier than when they came in. Business Is About Relationships It is easy to forget the fact that business is all about relationships. Relationships  with your current customers, but with vendors, former customers, clients, the community, and more. The Perfect Apology, a site dedicated to helping readers craft the perfect mea culpa,  understands this relationship connection between a business and customer. It offers the following strategy about how to protect that relationship: 1.  Look at the reason behind your business apology and  who  has been affected by the situation. 2.  Determine the most appropriate way to apologize and  when  that apology should be given. 3.  Ask and answer the following four basic questions: What are you apologizing for? Who are you apologizing to? How do you apologize? When should you apologize? When someone complains, its not the end of the relationship. Instead, its an opportunity. Its a chance to strengthen that relationship and rebuild it. Business is about relationships. Complaints are a chance to preserve and build relationships.How To Apologize Face-To-Face When I was in the first grade, a teacher of mine told us that if we were going to apologize to someone, sorry is never enough. When you apologize you should state their name, tell them what happened, tell them why it happened, and that you’ll never do it agin. As Ive been doing research on business apologies, Ive been learning this form of apology is what most businesses use. Its a five-step process. Apologize.  Actually say you are sorry. Dont say that you are sorry they feel that way but say I am sorry. State what you did wrong.  Make sure you inform the customer what your business did wrong. This is you owning up to your mistakes and taking ownership of them. Acknowledge how they are feeling.  Imagine yourself in their shoes, and let them know you understand (or are trying to understand) how the situation made/makes them feel. Express regret.  Let them know you feel bad about the situation. Promise it wont happen again. It’s hard to promise that something will never happen again, but you can at least mention how you will do your best to prevent a mistake from happening again. A crisis is never fun but it does give you an opportunity to build a lasting relationship with your audience. Of course, this is based on how you handle it. Customers Value Apology More What do customers value more? An apology or some form of monetary value in exchange for the poor experience? The Nottingham School of Economics  conducted a study and found that unhappy customers are more willing to forgive a company that offers an apology rather than monetary compensation. Why would customers be more willing to forgive a company that offers an apology? Researchers theorized that when customers hear Im sorry, it triggers an instinct to forgive. Its an instinct that is difficult for people to overcome. I have to admit that the results of this study came as a surprise for me. From my experience, I know customers always value a genuine apology. Im on the marketing team for a sandwich shop and like anyone in the food industry knows, mistakes happen. Typically when a customer complains, we apologize and offer to send them something in the mail. That something is usually a free sandwich. Well typically say something that directly addresses their poor experience, apologize for it and ask for them to give us another chance to make up for their poor experience. I believe this is a good balance between an apology and compensation. Author Bruna Martinuzzi wrote a wonderful post on the best way for businesses to apologize, sharing some great apology dos and donts. Whats the big takeaway? Don’t use the word â€Å"if†.  An apology that is â€Å"if I offended you, I’m sorry† is basically saying â€Å"I don’t understand how you can be offended, but if you are so sensitive to being offended, let me apologize.† That’s not the vibe you want to give off to your customers. You don’t want to insult them again. Just say, â€Å"I’m sorry we offended you.† That’s straight to the point and you took ownership of the situation. Don’t give excuses.  Excuses are tempting because there is usually a reason behind your actions. Yet excuses are easily one of the most annoying things about apologies. â€Å"I’m sorry I offended you, but I was just following customer policy.† Even if you have an actual reason as to why a situation occurred, refrain from making excuses. You can explain the situation, but don’t use an excuse. It will make your apology less genuine. Make it brief.  Keep your apology short. It’s easy to ramble on, but don’t. Short and sweet is the rule. This will make it seem more genuine and less about you. The sooner the better.  The time frame on giving an apology does expire. Don’t delay an apology. 50% of consumers give a brand only one week to respond to a question before they stop doing business with them, according to RightNow Customer Experience Impact Report. If possible, apologize before the customer even knows about the situation. It will make the customer trust you more. For business, trust is everything. Value the relationship.  You dont always need to be right. The value of a relationship will often overshadow your need to be right. By arguing about who is right and who is wrong, youre doing more damage. Does it matter who is right? Will it harm the relationship between you and the customer? Is it worth it? Create an apology policy.  If you have multiple employees, it can be hard to keep everyone in the loop on whats the best way to apologize. Even if you are the only person in your company, an apology policy will help keep you on track with consistent and level headed responses.  Martinuzzi points out Starbucks LATTE method for dealing with complaints.  Starbucks baristas are trained to respond to complaints by Listening (L), Acknowledging (A), (T)  Taking Action, Thanking (T), and Explaining (E). There is emphasis on listening first and only lastly on explaining what happened. Try to create an easy to remember policy that will help you and your employees deal with complaints. How To Apologize On Social Media One reason business owners dont want to go into  social media  is because they are afraid theyll be on defense the entire time. Any time a customer has so much as a mediocre experience they come flocking to their social media networks and complain. It seems like all they would do  on social media is apologize.

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Interesting Xenon Facts and Uses in Chemistry

Interesting Xenon Facts and Uses in Chemistry Although its a rare element, xenon is one of the noble gases you may encounter in daily life. Here are some interesting facts about this element: Xenon is a colorless, odorless, heavy noble gas. It is element 54 with the symbol Xe and atomic weight 131.293. A liter of xenon gas weighs over 5.8 grams. It is 4.5 times denser than air. It has a melting point of  161.40 K ​(−111.75  °C, ​−169.15  °F) and boiling point of  165.051 K ​(−108.099  °C, ​−162.578  °F). Like nitrogen, its possible to observe the solid, liquid, and gas phases of the element at ordinary pressure.Xenon was discovered in 1898 by  William Ramsay and Morris Travers. Earlier, Ramsay and Travers discovered the other noble gases krypton and neon. They discovered all three gases by examining components of liquid air. Ramsay received the 1904 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his contribution in discovering neon, argon, krypton, and xenon and describing the characteristics of the noble gas element group.The name xenon comes from the Greek words xenon, which means stranger, and xenos, which means strange o r foreign. Ramsay proposed the element name, describing xenon as a stranger in a sample of liquefied air. The sample contained the known element argon. Xenon was isolated using fractionation and verified as a new element from its spectral signature. Xenon arc discharge lamps are used in the extremely bright headlamps of expensive cars and to illuminate large objects (e.g., rockets) for night viewing. Many of the xenon headlights sold online are fakes: incandescent lamps wrapped with a blue film, possibly containing xenon gas but incapable of producing the bright light of genuine arc lamps.Although the noble gases generally are considered inert, xenon actually does form a few chemical compounds with other elements. Examples include xenon hexafluoroplatinate, xenon fluorides, xenon oxyfluorides, and xenon oxides. The xenon oxides are highly explosive. The compound  Xe2Sb2F1   is particularly noteworthy because it contains a Xe-Xe chemical bond, making it an example of a compound containing the longest element-element bond known to science.Xenon is obtained by extracting it from liquefied air. The gas is rare but present in the atmosphere at a concentration of about 1 part per 11.5 million (0.087 parts per million.) The gas is present in the Martian atmosphere at approximately the same concentration. Xenon is found in the Earths crust, in gases from certain mineral springs, and elsewhere in the solar system, including the sun, Jupiter, and meteorites. It is possible to make solid xenon by exerting high pressure on the element (hundreds of kilobars.) The metallic solid state of xenon is sky blue. Ionized xenon gas is blue-violet, while the usual gas and liquid are colorless.One of xenons uses is for ion drive propulsion.  NASAs Xenon Ion Drive engine fires a small number of xenon ions at high speed (146,000 km/hour for the Deep Space 1 probe). The drive may propel spacecraft on deep space missions.Natural xenon is a mixture of nine isotopes, although 36 or more isotopes are known. Of the natural isotopes, eight are stable, which makes xenon the only element except for tin with more than seven stable natural isotopes. The most stable of xenons radioisotopes has a half-life of  2.11 sextillion years. Many of the radioisotopes are produced via the fission of uranium and plutonium.The radioactive isotope xenon-135 may be obtained by beta decay of iodine-135, which is formed by nuclear fission. Xenon-135 is used to absorb neutrons i n nuclear reactors. In addition to headlamps and ion drive engines, xenon is used for photographic flash lamps, bactericidal lamps (because it produces ultraviolet light), various lasers, moderate nuclear reactions, and motion picture projectors. Xenon can also be used as a general anesthetic gas.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Final Assignment Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Final Assignment - Term Paper Example There will be injustice in screening the applicants for various jobs. This issue has brought tension among the employees around the mentioned states. Employees have also feared in asking for money lending since its mandatory that they may be unfairly charged during the payment of debts. A great concern is for provisions pertained in these laws because it subjects these employers too much criminal and civil punishments. The exposure of these penalties to the workers is dangerous and it may cause a drop in hiring of employees in private sector. It is also worth noting the requirements in this legislation since it is harsh to the private sector than the government sector and this therefore will cause a problem to the people of Ontario. All the applicants who have reached the final stage of being given a chance go through a thorough inspection for criminal record and this may eliminate a person at this step. Even though the solutions being worked on by the City Council of Ontario are supported, the unintended punishments of allowing this bill would likely deter the business environment in this city of Ontario and regulate job growth as new firms or current employers planning to expand may choose to do so In a neighboring state without this restrictive hiring method. Molding job opportunities in the private field for ex-offenders is an issue of great concern by the city lawmakers, but it would be highly productive to give incentives to businesses to achieve this goal than for authority to command and scare them. The policymakers think that this project will decrease crime in Ontario City but it will be more of negative to the workers than benefit them. Nonetheless, the idea seems to brush away the whole city. Under these laws, job request cannot include a â€Å"box† asking about criminal history although employers can do background checks later in the progression. This policy has many things to correct it. Many of the criminals undergo ordinary

Friday, October 18, 2019

Executive management in Law Enforcement motivation theory Essay

Executive management in Law Enforcement motivation theory - Essay Example This was the time in 1994 when law enforcement was becoming increasingly complex and dangerous because many criminals had access to greater firepower and were more disposed to use it than the police forces. Upon identifying the main reasons behind employee turnover rate, when in 1994, the Clinton administration developed a program to help fight crime by putting 100,000 new police officers on the street, the concept of the "thin blue line" enabled communities to commit extra police resources in areas, such as community oriented policing, that previously had been neglected (Schwabe, 1999, p. 1). There was another challenge waiting for law enforcement agencies to test and implement their enforcement strategies so as to detect the offensive behaviour of crime and criminality. That was only possible in circumstances where criminal motivation was understood by FBI and other law enforcement agencies. (Journal of Power and Ethics, 2001) On the other hand motivation was also required by the agency officers and other managerial staff in order to conduct various operations against crime. (Stuart, 2005) When it comes to managing law enforcement, the contribution of technology driven human resource cannot be ignored. So, if technology can improve public safety and be an efficient use of resources, what about human resource Of course it is the man power that uses technology as a means to fight crime thereby diffusing security and safety issues among the public. Now, the thing that bridges the gap between technological resources and utilization is human resource, and the persuasion behind human resource is that of 'Motivation Theory' we would discuss later. The law enforcement management characterises the behaviour of offenders as purposive. Why it is so Because it is the behaviour of the offender that purports the law enforcement management to understand the purpose behind the crime, in other words to help the management understand the motivation for that behaviour. According to Wortley (2002) in context with the offender, it is the decision of the offender to engage in a particular behaviour that creates four cost-benefit dimensions: the perceived effort involved that indicates how difficult is the behaviour to perform, the perceived risks involved in detecting and punishment, the anticipated rewards and the anticipated feelings of guilt or shame (Wortley, 2002, p. 33). Law enforcement management is incomplete without 'technology', from latest computerized equipments helpful in analyzing DNA of the culprit to the integrated data systems, human resource is the basic tool which works behind various law enforcement agencies and National Crime Information Centre (NCIC). Either in the form of field officer or an advocate, there is one single factor responsible for making them work effectively and efficiently: 'Motivation'. What is 'Motivation' in Management Motivation refers to those levels of satisfaction within an individual that are fulfilled by the direction and performance of that individual with respect to acquiring a positive or a negative outcome called as a 'reward'. This reward may be 'extrinsic' - a tribute given by another person or 'intrinsic' - a tribute that occurs within a person. It is this motivation that makes

Marketing Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

Marketing - Case Study Example Several brands have registered success in the social media usage. Currently, social media usage must be employed to meet the younger generation. Marketing of products using online tools has increased sales volume because the clients employ online purchase of items. Apart from employing the online tools, social media have a massive impact on the success of the country both in business and politics. The Arab revolution is a product of social media usage in the airing of the grievances of the citizens. Facebook is the leading social media platform with massive subscribers and increased success in terms of usage. Facebook as a social media tool enjoys massive support from the youths who have employed it in communication and information transfer. Companies use social media marketing strategy to improve brand image and resonance (Beverly and Thomson 123). Marketing involves the employment of all the necessary platforms of promotion and advertising with the SNSs offering a better platform for communication. Social media platforms offer the opportunity for collection of feedback. Traditionally, feedback collection of products released in the market was hard to obtain owing to the nature of information sharing systems. However, with the introduction of social media platform companies are able to prepare the market for the introduction of new product, while also collecting the customer preferences about the product. The success of products in the current society has been pegged on the marketing plan and action employed by the company (Beverly and Thomson 145). Public relations use social media to improve product perception and facilitate the development of positivity towards the company. Social media can be employed both in communication and persuasive advertising with enormous success. Facebook, MySpace and Twitter, are some of the widely used social media platforms

African americans and the military during WW2 Essay

African americans and the military during WW2 - Essay Example They nurtured great expectations due to their excellent work and war records they possessed. This hope had been carried further as President Wilson declared that the war was being fought â€Å"to make the world safe for democracy†.(President Wilson, World War I) African American soldiers as well as the civilians always recollected or remembered their painful experiences of World War I. They had endured discrimination and segregation in almost all areas and they were not willing to accept these factors once again. So they started raising their voices in protest for which they had to undergo severe punishment in lieu of their attitude. Their hopes and aspirations were dashed to the ground when after the war; discriminatory feelings began to grow against them in leaps and bounds. The Ku Klux Klan was once again revived and gained the support of other anti- African American groups. The Blacks suffered horrendous discrimination and riots and attacks left thousands homeless. Many of the Black writers interviewed some of the black American slaves and received a first hand report of the atrocities meted out to them. Due to segregation of the Black Americans discontentment and the need to take revenge brewed among them. Many organizational groups such as the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the NAACP and the National Urban League tried very hard to put an end to segregation of the Black Americans and the discrimination shown to them, but all the efforts undertaken were slow and laborious. The NAACP also worked towards obtaining voting rights and tried hard to dismantle discrimination and segregation by moving the court. They also strived hard to gain laws that were beneficial to the suffering African Americans. The â€Å"Jim Crow† laws that were mandated discriminated Blacks to have separate facilities for worship, housing, travel, schooling, lodging, eating and drinking and all other aspects of

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Qualitative Dissertation Study Analysis LOCATE ANY QUALITATIVE Essay

Qualitative Dissertation Study Analysis LOCATE ANY QUALITATIVE DISSERTATION AND SUBMIT WITH ASSIGNMENT - Essay Example Twelve female season-ticket holders of university men’s basketball, with no recent attendance at a women’s basketball game, were interviewed using a semi-structured format† (Farrell, 2006, p. 1). The logic behind this selection of interview subjects was simple. If Farrell had analyzed women who do not like sports to determine why they do not watch women’s sports, it would have led to too obvious a conclusion: Women just do not like sports, women or men’s. However, it does seem possible that women who like sports like men’s sports, that there may be something about men’s sports in particular that would attract them in particular, such that talking to either fans of women’s sports or women who watch neither would be relevant as a control. Nonetheless, this choice of interview subject is designed to find people who not only like sports but also like them enough to buy a season-ticket pass to college games. Farrell (2006) pointed to research that identifies four different categories of research interest: characteristics of language, discovery of regularities, discerning meaning, and reflection. She also pointed out that qualitative and quantitative techniques are not strict binaries. For example, one quantitative technique, numerical and statistical analysis, is done on a fundamentally qualitative tool, a survey, by having people rank their beliefs from 1 to 7 or on any other scale. Farrell defined qualitative research, in line with Golafshani (2003), as â€Å"a naturalistic approach that seeks to understand phenomena in context-specific settings, such as a real world setting where the researcher does not attempt to manipulate the phenomenon of interest† (p. 61). Theoretical Background Farrell (2006) used social constructivism and critical theory for her interpretation, noting that many other approaches (positivism, pragmatism, interpretivism, postmodern techniques) are also equally viable. She defined s ocial constructivism thusly: â€Å"Social constructivism asserts that humans construct knowledge using collective social instruments such as language and cultural practices† (p. 62). A social constructivist argument would take it as a given that the category of â€Å"women† is not fixed, so there is no answer for â€Å"Why don’t women like women’s sports?† that has the form â€Å"Because that is what women do† or â€Å"Women are genetically programmed only to like male gladiatorial rituals†. If women do not like women’s sports, it must be a social factor: acculturation, values, the failure of women’s sports to appeal to their values or interests, etc. Farrell (2006) justified her use of critical theory thusly: The study of women in sport is, in essence, a study of gender struggles against male hegemonic values embedded in the construction of sport as a male preserve. Critical theory lends itself well to a more deliberate investigation of the power structures of sport in this study (p. 63). Indeed, critical theory’

CyberSecuirty Threats Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

CyberSecuirty Threats - Essay Example This compromise may include a covert computer terminal is connected to the same line through the telephone switching equipment and is then used when the legitimate user is not using the terminal. The computer cannot differentiate between the two terminals; it senses only one terminal and one authorized user (Peter & Allan, 20). A user may also improperly sign off when leaving a terminal session. Here, the intruder will find the terminal session in active state and access the user’s files as the computer believes the user is still active. The perpetrator may also use another form of piggybacking where they forward the call of the victim’s calls to the perpetrator’s phone (Peter & Allan, 120). Passwords are the other form of security verification methods implemented in computer networks and devices. With passwords, the user is required to enter secret digits or letters or both to provide access to a system or files in a system (Lynch, 401). Passwords have been in existence since long ago and are applicable in many fields such as in automated teller machines, mobile phones and computer operating systems (Peter & Allan, 70). However, passwords have been known to be cracked and as such very in strength where alphanumeric patterns of passwords offer the strongest passwords while simple letters or digits offer weak and vulnerable passwords (Peter & Allan, 80). Phishing in internet security is a form of crime that occurs in the internet. Here, deception is used to acquire someone’s or a company’s sensitive information such as their bank account details, credit card number, usernames and passwords. The culprit masquerades as a trustworthy party such as a bank or popular site (Lynch, 410). They in turn send emails or instant messages that are infected with malware and harm the unsuspecting victim. Once the message or email is opened the malware retrieves the user’s

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Qualitative Dissertation Study Analysis LOCATE ANY QUALITATIVE Essay

Qualitative Dissertation Study Analysis LOCATE ANY QUALITATIVE DISSERTATION AND SUBMIT WITH ASSIGNMENT - Essay Example Twelve female season-ticket holders of university men’s basketball, with no recent attendance at a women’s basketball game, were interviewed using a semi-structured format† (Farrell, 2006, p. 1). The logic behind this selection of interview subjects was simple. If Farrell had analyzed women who do not like sports to determine why they do not watch women’s sports, it would have led to too obvious a conclusion: Women just do not like sports, women or men’s. However, it does seem possible that women who like sports like men’s sports, that there may be something about men’s sports in particular that would attract them in particular, such that talking to either fans of women’s sports or women who watch neither would be relevant as a control. Nonetheless, this choice of interview subject is designed to find people who not only like sports but also like them enough to buy a season-ticket pass to college games. Farrell (2006) pointed to research that identifies four different categories of research interest: characteristics of language, discovery of regularities, discerning meaning, and reflection. She also pointed out that qualitative and quantitative techniques are not strict binaries. For example, one quantitative technique, numerical and statistical analysis, is done on a fundamentally qualitative tool, a survey, by having people rank their beliefs from 1 to 7 or on any other scale. Farrell defined qualitative research, in line with Golafshani (2003), as â€Å"a naturalistic approach that seeks to understand phenomena in context-specific settings, such as a real world setting where the researcher does not attempt to manipulate the phenomenon of interest† (p. 61). Theoretical Background Farrell (2006) used social constructivism and critical theory for her interpretation, noting that many other approaches (positivism, pragmatism, interpretivism, postmodern techniques) are also equally viable. She defined s ocial constructivism thusly: â€Å"Social constructivism asserts that humans construct knowledge using collective social instruments such as language and cultural practices† (p. 62). A social constructivist argument would take it as a given that the category of â€Å"women† is not fixed, so there is no answer for â€Å"Why don’t women like women’s sports?† that has the form â€Å"Because that is what women do† or â€Å"Women are genetically programmed only to like male gladiatorial rituals†. If women do not like women’s sports, it must be a social factor: acculturation, values, the failure of women’s sports to appeal to their values or interests, etc. Farrell (2006) justified her use of critical theory thusly: The study of women in sport is, in essence, a study of gender struggles against male hegemonic values embedded in the construction of sport as a male preserve. Critical theory lends itself well to a more deliberate investigation of the power structures of sport in this study (p. 63). Indeed, critical theory’

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Review article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 11

Review - Article Example The paper aims at investigating whether Vitamin A -based chromophore is essential in photo reception by the ipRGS. In addition, the paper seeks to investigate the function of melanopsin in signaling the photo-pigments. In responding to these uncertainty, the paper studies a knock-out mouse line which lacks the RPE65 (rpe65–/–), which is a substantial protein that regenerates the 11–cis–retinal in the RPE. In essence, the paper succinctly covers the topic by ascertaining that there are other photo receptors within the mammalian retina other than the known rods and cones. The main concept behind this paper is to have a clear understanding of the diversity of the ipRGCs and their different functions in regulating behavior. The findings illustrate that Rpe65–/– ipRGCs were 20–40–fold and are not photosensitive whether at single cell or behavioral (PLR) levels. The photosensitivity detected is expressed by exogenous 9–cis–retinal, an 11–cis–retinal analog. In addition, there was no detection of Melanopsin in the retinal pigment epithelium or any results both in the rod and cone sensitivities. This is a factor that led to ablation of Melanopsin in both the ERG and single cell

Monday, October 14, 2019

Using Recrystallisation Improve The Purity Of Aspirin Biology Essay

Using Recrystallisation Improve The Purity Of Aspirin Biology Essay In this experiment I have investigated the research question How does the process of recrystallisation improve the purity of Aspirin. I used a well documented method of preparing Aspirin. Having obtained the Aspirin I performed several recrystallisation processes on it. I then determined accurately the quantity of Aspirin in each of my sample by volumetric analysis. I was then able to determine purity and percentage yield by comparing it to an original tablet Aspirin in the market. I also used melting point to assess purity. I learnt about Aspirin when we did the chapter medicine and drugs in our class. Aspirin is a very common drug used in our daily lives. The common chemical name is  acetylsalicylic acid. Salicylic acid was identified and isolated from the bark of a willow tree but it could not be synthesised in laboratory. In 1893, Felix Hoffman Jr., a chemist found out a practical way for synthesizing an ester derivative of salicylic acid, acetylsalicylic acid. Acetylsalicylic acid, a weaker acid than salicylic acid, was found to have the medicinal properties of salicylic acid without having the objectionable taste or producing the stomach problems as a side effect. The acetyl group effectively masks the acidity of the drug during its ingestion and after it passes into the small intestine, it is converted back to salicylic acid where it can enter the bloodstream and do its pain relieving action  [1]  . Acetylsalicylic acid is powerful as a pain reliever, fever reducer, and swelling-reducing dru g but it also has faults, it causes stomach irritation to some individuals and also may lead to Reye syndrome in young children. I was excited to see if this drug we use has the same purity when prepared in lab and when bought from outside. Aspirin is an important analgesic therefore methods of improving purity are essential. The preparation of Aspirin involves organic synthesis and I learnt about this process when I studied organic chemistry and it an interesting topic to research about. The preparation of drugs that I use in my daily lives excited me particularly as I want to do biochemistry in university and also work in a pharmaceutical company for drug designing. Hence, I decided upon making aspirin in the lab and researching about it. BACKGROUNG INFORMATION 2.1 Synthesis of Aspirin The above is the reaction for the formation of Aspirin. This organic synthesis is an esterification reaction between a compound containing a OH group (ester) and an acid. Esters are a type of organic acid in which the hydroxide groups are replaced. The H from the OH group is replaced by a carboxyl carbon C=O group.  Esterification is the  acid catalyzed reaction of a carboxyl (-COOH) group and an -OH group of an alcohol or phenol  to form a carboxylate ester. A catalyst is required for the reaction for example concentrated H2SO4.In the synthesis of Aspirin the -OH group is the phenolic -OH  group attached to ring of the salicylic acid  [2]  . 2.2 Purification of Aspirin using the process of recrystallisation I used the process of recrystallisation to investigate how effective this process is in making Aspirin pure. The process of recrystallisation takes advantage of the relative solubilities of contaminants compared to that of Aspirin  [3]  . The technique is to use a solvent in which the solid is sparingly soluble at low temperature and quite soluble at higher temperature (at the boiling point of the solvent). In my research Aspirin is insoluble in cold water and hence in the process of recrystallisation I first dissolved Aspirin crystals into hot water and then let it cool down so that it would crystallize out. The solid is dissolved in the minimum quantity of solvent required to produce a solution at the boiling point of the solvent. Upon cooling the solution to room temperature or below, the solid crystallizes out of solution due to its lower solubility at the lower temperature  [4]  . Impurities (i.e., any foreign substance) in a solid are classified as soluble or insoluble. The removal of insoluble impurities is accomplished by filtering the hot solution. The insoluble impurities remain on the filter paper. Ideally, soluble impurities remain in solution when the solid being purified crystallizes. (Depending upon concentration and solubility of the impurity in the selected solvent it may sometimes be necessary to recrystallise more than one time. That is some of the soluble impurity might also crystallize. If any soluble impurity crystallizes, the melting point of your product will be depressed). When recrystallisation is complete the purified solid is isolated by filtration and the crystals are washed with a small quantity of cold solvent (to rinse off the solution of soluble impurities coating the freshly filtered solid)  [5]  . 2.3 Determination of purity using melting point apparatus I also used melting point determination to give further evidence towards the purity of aspirin. Melting point is a useful measure for the purity of a solid. Melting point apparatus is commonly used for this purpose. It consists of a heated metal block with holes for a thermometer and melting point tubes. The capillary tubes are provided open-ended and the crystalline solid can be transferred into the tube and forced to the bottom with gentle tapping. The compound is heated slowly especially around its melting point for accuracy. There are attractive forces (intermolecular interactions) between the molecules in a solid that keep them together in an ordered crystalline structure. If enough heat energy is added to the solid the internal kinetic energy of the molecules causes them to move in the solid. At the temperature where the energy of molecular motion overcomes the attractive forces between molecules the compound begins to melt. When a solid is pure the molecules are all identical and thus the interactions between molecules are similar and thus the sample will melt at a distinct temperature. Impure compounds, on the other hand, have a range of intermolecular interactions between molecules and will melt over a range of temperatures.  [6]   3. APPARATUS  [7]  :- 3.1 Equipments: The apparatus listed below does not list quantities for repeat readings. Conical flask (100 cm3) (ÃÆ'-1) Measuring cylinders (10 cm3) ( ±0.5cm3) (ÃÆ'-2) Beaker (100 cm3) (ÃÆ'-2) Glass rod (ÃÆ'-1) Vacuum filtration flask (ÃÆ'-1) Rubber tubing for vacuum flask (ÃÆ'-1) Hirsch funnel (ÃÆ'-1) Water bath containing crushed ice (ÃÆ'-1) Source of hot water (ÃÆ'-1) Test-tubes (ÃÆ'-4) Meltemp apparatus for finding the melting point of Aspirin Burette (50cm3) (ÃÆ'-1) Clamp stand (ÃÆ'-1) Spatula (ÃÆ'-2) Watch glass (ÃÆ'-1) Melting point capillary tube (ÃÆ'-1) Filter paper to fit Hirsch funnel (ÃÆ'-1) 3.2 Chemicals: 2-hydroxybenzoic acid (salicylic acid) (2g) Ethanoic anhydride (4cm3) Concentrated sulphuric acid (5 drops) Ethanoic acid (glacial) (4cm3) (1)Aspirin tablet Phenolphthalein solution Sodium hydroxide solution (0.1 mol dm-3) 95% alcohol 4. DIAGRAM: 4.1 Hirsch Funnel: 4.2 Melting Point Apparatus: 5. METHOD  [8]  :- Shake 2g of 2-hydroxybenzoic acid (salicylic acid) (CARE Irritant) with 4 cm3 of ethanoic anhydride (CARE Corrosive) in a 100 cm3 conical flask. Add 5 drops of concentrated sulphuric acid (CARE Corrosive) and continue agitating the flask for about 10 minutes. Crystals of Aspirin will appear and soon the whole will form a crystalline mush. Dilute by stirring in 4cm3 of cold glacial ethanoic acid (CARE Corrosive) and cool by placing in a water bath containing crushed ice. Filter off the crystals using a Hirsch funnel (a small funnel for vacuum filtration), washing once with ice cold water to remove residual acid. Place the crude Aspirin in a 100cm3 beaker. Add hot, but not boiling, water until it dissolves. A mass of very pure Aspirin crystals will form; cool the flask by surrounding it with cold water. Filter them again and rinse the crystals with the chilled water. The insoluble impurities remain on the filter paper and the filtrate contains the product. Aspirin can be recovered from this solution by evaporation of the recrystallisation.  [9]   Leave the crystals overnight on a watch glass to dry completely. This process is known as recrystallisation and is a way of purifying a solid product (Aspirin). Do the recrystallisation process three times and after every recrystallisation remove some sample of Aspirin and store in a test tube to test later. Now do titration of the samples stored after each recrystallisation. Take some of Aspirin for each sample and leave some in the test tube for testing the melting point. For the process of titration, take the Aspirin from each sample into a 50 cm3 conical flask and dissolve it in 5 cm3 of 95% alcohol and add two drops of phenolphthalein solution to it. Titrate the solution in the conical flask with 0.1 mol dm-3 sodium hydroxide from a burette (CARE Eye protection must be worn). Record the volume needed to produce the first tinge of pale pink colour in the indicator. This measure the end-point of the titration. Take a capillary tube and gently press the open end into the pile of Aspirin crystals on the paper so that a  few  crystals of Aspirin  enter the capillary tube. Tap the closed end of the capillary onto the bench top, so that the Aspirin  crystals work their way to the bottom.   The Aspirin crystals should be firmly packed, and fill the capillary tube to a depth of  no more than  1-2 mm.   Insert the capillary tube containing the sample into the melting point apparatus.   Record the temperature where the melting point is first observed and when it becomes a liquid completely.   This is your melting point range.  [10]   Then do the titration of an original tablet of Aspirin available in the market. Then test the melting point of the original tablet of Aspirin by the method described above. Compare the melting point which you get from the samples and the original tablet of Aspirin with the one given in the data booklet. 6. OBSERVATIONS:- When I mixed salicylic acid with ethanoic anhydride, the solution turned milky. When to the solution I added concentrated sulphuric acid, the solution turns colourless and then after agitating for 10 minutes the solution again turns milky white. The beaker is hot and hence we can say that the reaction between concentrated sulphuric acid and the solution (ethanoic anhydride + salicylic acid) is exothermic. When I was doing my melting point I saw that the solid obtained after the first recrystallisation actually turned black before actually getting close to the melting point of the original Aspirin. As the number of recrystallisation increased I could see that the melted Aspirin was still white and was getting closer to the melting point of the original Aspirin (135 °C) as mentioned in the data book. 7. DATA COLLECTION AND PROCESSING:- 7.1 The data of titrations of different recrystallisation samples of Aspirin:- 7.1.1 Original Aspirin tablet Burette solution (cm3) 0.1 mol dm-3 sodium hydroxide solution Indicator Phenolphthalein solution Trial 1st reading 2nd reading 3rd reading Burette readings (cm3) Final ( ±0.1) 44.5 44.0 44.0 44.3 Initial ( ±0.1) 69.0 69.0 69.0 69.0 Volume used (titre) cm3 ( ±0.2) 25.0 25.0 I have not used as they are not concordant. I have used these reading for my mean titre. Mean titre (cm3) ( ±0.2) 25.0 + 25.0 = 50.0 50.0 à · 2 = 25.0 (mean titre) Volumetric calculations Volume of NaOH used = 25.0 cm3. Moles of NaOH n = CV V = 25.0 cm3 = 25.0 à · 1000 = 0.025 dm3 n = 0.1 ÃÆ'- 0.025 = 0.0025 mol So, moles of Aspirin will also be equal to 0.0025mol because the reaction ratio between NaOH and Aspirin is 1:1. Weighed out sample of Aspirin = 0.62 g How many grams of Aspirin reacted with NaOH? Aspirin = C9H8O4 g = n ÃÆ'- Mr = 0.0025 ÃÆ'- Mr [(12.01 ÃÆ'- 9) + (1.01 ÃÆ'- 8) + (16.00 ÃÆ'- 4)] = 0.0025 ÃÆ'- 180.17 = 0.45 g Percentage of Aspirin reacted = (0.45 à · 0.62) ÃÆ'- 100 = 73% 7.1.2 Aspirin after 1st recrystallisation Burette solution (cm3) 0.1 mol dm-3 sodium hydroxide solution Indicator Phenolphthalein solution Trial 1st reading 2nd reading 3rd reading Burette readings (cm3) Final ( ±0.1) 3.4 3.6 3.7 3.8 Initial ( ±0.1) 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Volume used (titre) cm3 ( ±0.2) 3.6 3.7 3.8 I have used these reading for my mean titre. Mean titre (cm3) ( ±0.2) 3.6 + 3.7 + 3.8 = 11.1 11.1 à · 3 = 3.7 (mean titre) Volumetric calculations Volume of NaOH used = 3.7 cm3. Moles of NaOH n = CV V = 3.7 cm3 = 3.7 à · 1000 = 0.0037 dm3 n = 0.1 ÃÆ'- 0.0037 = 0.00037 mol So, moles of Aspirin will also be equal to 0.00037mol because the reaction ratio between NaOH and Aspirin is 1:1. Weighed out sample of Aspirin = 0.30 g How many grams of Aspirin reacted with NaOH? Aspirin = C9H8O4 g = n ÃÆ'- Mr = 0.00037 ÃÆ'- Mr [(12.01 ÃÆ'- 9) + (1.01 ÃÆ'- 8) + (16.00 ÃÆ'- 4)] = 0.00037 ÃÆ'- 180.17 = 0.066 g Percentage of Aspirin reacted = (0. 066 à · 0.30) ÃÆ'- 100 = 22% 7.1.3 Aspirin after 2nd recrystallisation Burette solution (cm3) 0.1 mol dm-3 sodium hydroxide solution Indicator Phenolphthalein solution Trial 1st reading 2nd reading 3rd reading Burette readings (cm3) Final ( ±0.1) 12.6 12.1 12.1 12.3 Initial ( ±0.1) 9.2 9.2 9.2 9.2 Volume used (titre) cm3 ( ±0.2) 2.9 2.9 I have not used as they are not concordant. I have used these reading for my mean titre. Mean titre (cm3) ( ±0.2) 2.9 + 2.9 = 5.8 5.8 à · 2 = 2.9 (mean titre) Volumetric calculations Volume of NaOH used = 2.9 cm3. Moles of NaOH n = CV V = 2.9 cm3 = 2.9 à · 1000 = 0.0029 dm3 n = 0.1 ÃÆ'- 0.0029 = 0.00029 mol So, moles of Aspirin will also be equal to 0.00029mol because the reaction ratio between NaOH and Aspirin is 1:1. Weighed out sample of Aspirin = 0.15 g How many grams of Aspirin reacted with NaOH? Aspirin = C9H8O4 g = n ÃÆ'- Mr = 0.00029 ÃÆ'- Mr [(12.01 ÃÆ'- 9) + (1.01 ÃÆ'- 8) + (16.00 ÃÆ'- 4)] = 0.00029 ÃÆ'- 180.17 = 0.052 g Percentage of Aspirin reacted = (0. 052 à · 0.15) ÃÆ'- 100 = 35% 7.1.4 Aspirin after 3rd recrystallisation Burette solution (cm3) 0.1 mol dm-3 sodium hydroxide solution Indicator Phenolphthalein solution Trial 1st reading 2nd reading 3rd reading Burette readings (cm3) Final ( ±0.1) 17.2 17.6 17.9 17.9 Initial ( ±0.1) 13.1 13.1 13.1 13.1 Volume used (titre) cm3 ( ±0.2) I have not used as they are not concordant. 4.8 4.8 I have used these reading for my mean titre. Mean titre (cm3) ( ±0.2) 4.8 + 4.8 = 9.6 9.6 à · 2 = 4.8 (mean titre) Volumetric calculations Volume of NaOH used = 4.8 cm3. Moles of NaOH n = CV V = 4.8 cm3 = 4.8 à · 1000 = 0.0048 dm3 n = 0.1 ÃÆ'- 0.0048 = 0.00048 mol So, moles of Aspirin will also be equal to 0.00048mol because the reaction ratio between NaOH and Aspirin is 1:1. Weighed out sample of Aspirin = 0.15 g How many grams of Aspirin reacted with NaOH? Aspirin = C9H8O4 g = n ÃÆ'- Mr = 0.00048 ÃÆ'- Mr [(12.01 ÃÆ'- 9) + (1.01 ÃÆ'- 8) + (16.00 ÃÆ'- 4)] = 0.00048 ÃÆ'- 180.17 = 0.086 g Percentage of Aspirin reacted = (0. 086 à · 0.15) ÃÆ'- 100 = 57% 7.1.5 Aspirin after 4th recrystallisation Burette solution (cm3) 0.1 mol dm-3 sodium hydroxide solution Indicator Phenolphthalein solution Trial 1st reading 2nd reading 3rd reading Burette readings (cm3) Final ( ±0.1) 21.3 20.9 21.0 21.1 Initial ( ±0.1) 16.9 16.9 16.9 16.9 Volume used (titre) cm3 ( ±0.2) 4.0 4.1 4.2 I have used these reading for my mean titre. Mean titre (cm3) ( ±0.2) 4.0 + 4.1 + 4.2 = 12.3 12.3 à · 3 = 4.1 (mean titre) Volumetric calculations Volume of NaOH used = 4.1 cm3. Moles of NaOH n = CV V = 4.1 cm3 = 4.1 à · 1000 = 0.0041 dm3 n = 0.1 ÃÆ'- 0.0041 = 0.00041 mol So, moles of Aspirin will also be equal to 0.00041mol because the reaction ratio between NaOH and Aspirin is 1:1. Weighed out sample of Aspirin = 0.10 g How many grams of Aspirin reacted with NaOH? Aspirin = C9H8O4 g = n ÃÆ'- Mr = 0.00041 ÃÆ'- Mr [(12.01 ÃÆ'- 9) + (1.01 ÃÆ'- 8) + (16.00 ÃÆ'- 4)] = 0.00041 ÃÆ'- 180.17 = 0.074 g Percentage of Aspirin reacted = (0. 074 à · 0.10) ÃÆ'- 100 = 74% 7.2 The data of melting points of different recrystallisation samples of Aspirin:- 7.2.1 Melting point after first recrystallisation Number of recrystallisation Temperature ( °C) ( ± 0.1 °C) Original melting point of Aspirin ( °C) Trial 1st reading 2nd reading 3rd reading Average 1 155.0 152.5 151.9 151.7 152.0 135.0 2 154.1 150.0 148.5 148.2 148.9 135.0 3 115.2 120.9 122.8 122.9 122.2 135.0 4 124.7 125.4 126.1 126.9 126.1 135.0 Original tablet 128.0 128.8 129.2 129.9 129.3 135.0 7.2.2 Graph showing the difference between melting points of Aspirin which was prepared and recrystallised in lab and melting of Aspirin from the data book Y-axis = temperature (in à ¢Ã‚ Ã‚ °C) X-axis = number of recrystallisations of aspirin samples prepared in lab and aspirin available in market 8. INTERPRETATION OF THE DATA I will now explain the results of melting point and titration. From the results of titrations we can see a trend flowing and how after each recrystallisation the sample gets purer. As the quantity of Aspirin decreased after each recrystallisation, the mass of Aspirin in that quantity was more compared to the previous recrystallisation. When compared to the original tablet which we get in the market, I could speculate that the producer has done almost four recrystallisations to get that purity of Aspirin. More pure Aspirin can be obtained if more recrystallisations are done. We could say that the difference in melting point might be higher because it might contain impurities like unreacted salicylic acid or other by-products of the reaction or decomposition products. We can see that the difference in the melting point is getting less as the number of recrystallisation increase and closer to the melting point of Aspirin published in the data booklet. Further evidence to my theory that the number of recrystallisations increases the purity is my melting point data. From my graph it can be seen clearly that as the number of recrystallisations increase the closer to the melting point of pure aspirin we get in the market. My data shows that the percentage purity of aspirin increased with each recrystallisation process. For example, after the first recrystallisation the percentage purity was only 22%, however when fourth recrystallisation was done the percentage purity was 74% showing a significant increase. This can be seen in the following graph:- 9. CONCLUSION In answer to my research question, How does the process of recrystallisation improve the purity of Aspirin? I have found significantly that the percentage purity increases with each recrystallisation and this is evident in my graph under the heading Interpretation of the data. Recrystallisation is an important technique in organic Chemistry. The general method is to find a solvent that dissolves the product more readily at high temperature than at low temperature, make a hot solution, and allow to crystallise on cooling. The crude product might contain; impurities which are insoluble in the solvent; impurities which are slightly soluble in the solvent; and impurities which dissolve readily in the solvent. The solvent itself has also to be removed or it behaves as an impurity in its own right. It must not leave behind any residue. One simple way to tell whether an organic compound is pure is to measure its melting (or boiling) point. A pure compound melts sharply: if impurities are present it melts slowly (over a range of temperature).  [11]   The process of recrystallisation in my experiment increased the purity of Aspirin but with a decrease in the quantity produced. The solid will readily dissolve in a larger quantity of solvent; the larger the volume of solvent the greater the loss of product  [12]  . This is the reason why after every recrystallisation I lose Aspirin. The process of recrystallisation removes the impurities present and this can be concluded from the fact that the difference between the melting point of the sample and the melting point of Aspirin from data booklet decreases with each recrystallisation. I could conclude that a pharmaceutical company should always have a balance between producing a very pure product, which means many recrystallisation processes and producing enough quantity of the product to make it a profitable industry. 10. EVALUATION 10.1 Random error The apparatus I used had uncertainties like the measuring flask has an uncertainty of  ±0.5cm3, the burette had an uncertainty of  ±0.1cm3 and the melting point apparatus also had an uncertainty of  ± 0.1 °C. This results in errors in my results. The equipment error could be reduced by using equipments with less error. For example, I could use a burette with an error of  ±0.05 cm3 instead of a burette with error of  ±0.1 cm3. 10.2 Systematic error In the process of titration there could a parallax error caused if the reading from the burette is not read at eye-level. So, when taking the reading from the burette, the level of the eye should be same as the level of the meniscus. When we are titrating different samples of recrystallisations the colour of the indicator changes from pale pink to dark and it is difficult to know the end-point of the titration process. 10.3 Modifications in the method of preparation of Aspirin and its recrystallisation I modified the method to improve it in the following ways: After each recrystallisation there was loss of Aspirin and the decrease in the mass of Aspirin limited the number of recrystallisations needed to get the most pure form of Aspirin. So, if I doubled the mass of reactants I can get doubled the mass of Aspirin produced and an increase in the number of recrystallisations. When I mixed salicylic acid and ethanoic anhydride solution in concentrated sulphuric acid it is hard to get the formation of a crystalline mush of Aspirin by agitating the flask. Hence, instead I used a magnetic stirrer which gives a uniform stirring and all the chemicals are mixed properly. I found this to be more effective at producing the mush. During the process of recrystallisation a lot of Aspirin is lost. When I used the filter paper, I cut it the same size as the Hirsh funnel. Instead I could have used a bigger filter paper in the funnel so that the impurities do not leak out of the edges of the filter paper and I could get a purer sample of Aspirin. When the Aspirin is left overnight to dry in an evaporating dish, there could be many contaminants which would get mixed in the Aspirin and if this is not taken into consideration in pharmaceutical industries then this could lead to serious health problems. Hence, the Aspiring should be covered when left overnight to dry. I could use different methods of purification of Aspirin like thin layer chromatography which is a sensitive and quick way of detecting impurities in an organic product (Aspirin). I could also use spectroscopy which provides a very good method for analyzing an organic compound. By comparing the infra-red spectrum for Aspirin with the spectrum of compound in a database I can check on its purity. 11. UNANSWERED QUESTIONS Unfortunately, not all my questions could be answered in this experiment. It would have been interesting in further researching and comparing more brands of Aspirin available in the market, if the producers just recrystallised the sample of Aspirin twice so that they do not lose a lot of their product in the process of recrystallisation or the producers actually tried to produce a pure sample of Aspirin ignoring the decrease in yield after each recrystallisation and considering the fact that this can affect the health of humans. When an organic compound has been made it needs to be purified, particularly if it is a  pharmaceutical chemical. This is because most organic reactions produce by-products but, even if the reaction is a clean one, the purity standards for many products are so stringent that small amounts of other compounds have to be removed. In particular the catalyst used in this reaction is concentrated sulphuric acid and must all be removed.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

The Tuskegee Airman Essay -- Papers WW II World War 2 Air Force

The Tuskegee Airman For my term paper I chose the Tuskegee Airman. They will alway be the most influential air squadron during WWII. I think this because there where a lot racist people that did not want them to succeed, but they did more than just succeed. They became the first black Air Force pilots. It all started when President Roosevelt arranged a meeting in September 1940 with three African-American leaders and members of the Army and Navy. During the meeting, the leaders emphasized three points:(1)equal opportunity for jobs in the defense industry, (2)impartial administration of the new draftlaw, and (3)an opportunity for qualified blacks to learn to fly in desegrated units.*1* A few days later after the meeting, the War Department issued a policy directives stating that black men generally would be admitted into the armed force in numbers equivalent to their percentage in the civilian population. But it was not until a couple months after the meeting in December 1940, that the Army Air Corps submitted a plan for the experiment to establish an all-black fighter squadron. The plan was not official until July 19, 1941 when Major General Walter Weaver, commander of the U.S. Army’s Southeastern Air Corps spoke at the Tuskegee Institute Campus.*2* It was then that 13 black men became the first black pilot trainees. Most of the trainees were college graduates, including a policeman, an army officer, a factory inspector, and several young men who were fresh out of college. Also, all of the men were trained at Chanute Air Field in Ratoul, Illinois at the US Army Air Corps Technical Training School. The men of... ...groups. But it was not until 1948 that President Harry S. Truman issued an executive order. This order eventually ended segregation in the US military. In this paper I have represented my thesis statement with good facts and hard evidence that the Tuskegee Airman were and always will be the most influential fighter unit during WWII. Bibliography: Bilbiography #1.Mckissack, Patricia and Fredrick Red Tail Angles United States : Walker Publishing Company, 1995. #2.Harris, Jacqueline The Tuskegee Airman New Jersey: Dillon Press,1996. #3.Hart Philip S. Fly Free Minneapolis,Minnesota: Lerner Publications Company,1992. #4.Rose Robert A. Lonely Eagles Los Angelos,CA: Tuskegee Airman Inc. #5. â€Å"Tuskegee Airman:A Brief History† Tuskegee Airman November 26,1999 http://www.ebonywings.com/tuskegee

Saturday, October 12, 2019

The Theme of Responsibility in An Inspector Calls Essay -- An Inspecto

The Theme of Responsibility in An Inspector Calls John Boyton Priestly (1894-1984) wrote ‘An inspector calls' in 1945 and it was first performed in 1946. The play was set in 1912. Priestly wrote this play to send out a message of responsibility to the people. Priestly believed that even in 1945 they were still the same as they were in 1912, which is why Priestly choose to set the play in 1912, along with various other reasons, such as he wanted the audience to have the benefit of dramatic irony. During the Second World War, the people had united to fight one common enemy. This unity was that he wanted us to understand and believe in. He wanted to give everyone a choice. Should we go back to the way it was before the First World War, when everything was based on class, where an individual had to look solely after themselves, and no one else, or should we move forward, walk into the society where everyone looks for one another, where we all are equal and we work together? He wanted people to choose. He demonstrates the difference with the older generation representing the society where you care for yourself, and some of the younger generation that represents a new society where you care for one another. Priestly used dramatic irony to discredit Mr. Birling’s pronouncements in the opening scene. When Mr. Birling, head of the family and a respectable business man, talks of things that the audience knows is wrong, such as his opinion of the ‘unsinkable’ titanic, we begin to doubt Mr. Birling’s opinions, because we already know that the Titanic does in fact sink. At the time of which the play was set in, there were bitter divisions between the rich and the poor, industrial towns such as ‘Brumley’ were ... ... was to change, he knew the adults were stuck in their own reality and will never change so he puts his hope into the children. However, Priestly also knew that some of the children like the adults will not agree with his ideals, which is where Gerald comes in. Gerald is just like Mr. Birling as he does not think that he has done anything wrong. For these reason I dislike him. J. B. Priestly’s message (told via the inspector) tells us that we should have collective responsibility, and share our duties equally between us all. Do we really want to live in a world where those of higher class choose our fate, or do we want to choose our own fate? His message is still relevant today, as I think we still live in a society such as the one Priestly desires, we still need to learn his message, as we need to remember our responsibility for others and ourselves.

Friday, October 11, 2019

On “Education” in “Modern” India Essay

As I was sat down, trying to ‘learn’ chemistry one Friday evening, I began thinking on our education system due to which I had to study in such a poor way; it’s a pity, that I have started hating the subject, or all subjects for that matter, the more the examinations approached. To that end, I wrote a poem later – my debut poem, with which I’d like to introduce the topic; her it goes: â€Å"Education† for Progress You take a pot and fill it with water, the ocean still remains, You make the pot bigger, to douse the house’s flames And you make it even bigger, till you wash all of hell. But as men march on in time’s way, so do the forces grow, That bar the door of wisdom, till it maketh a man (a) crow; And once, but out the feathers come, than you just lo: For cells have formed where ere was Eden, And into the Saharan sands hath Plato been driven; Till now, had man’s asininity been aeon ridden? You look across many a book or any common mind, And surprised you may well be, to find: The fountain remains flowing as ever, waiting for Its very first drinker. But heads of men are now sore, And they allow not the thirsty to have a pour, But Indian crabs as they are, they pull him back onto shore. They set for education a Hammurabi’s code, And state it on an Economist’s ode: not the fountain Whose drink all doth desire, but a mere factory by the road That gives not many the bliss which they hope, but pain; Agony from not just failing to educate the self, But excruciation seeing others that too need help. The birth of a boy sees many a new colour: Businessman, engineer, NRI or a doctor. The scholar of yore is seen no more As machines of the line’s grown stronger than before. The student of the day is not the knowledge seeker, But a piece of iron thrown in the hands of a ‘caster’; That moulds and melts him not into the Being, But a mercantile golem that lives to seek a living. To commend its superiors enjoying the beauteous Nature, Whilst it toils in turmoil on these pans of fire: Institutes that teach not to analyze and wonder, But to gobble, espouse, vomit and then†¦just wander. So, do we just give tests and go on becoming another mechanical product of this degree-machine, or relieve ourselves of this blunder? We find that today, education has reached such a stage, that the difference between the educated and the uneducated, is but a degree (or no degree), however the other may know; which reminds me of what a teacher of mine once said: â€Å"†¦You may wonder at the fact, that I have said Euclid and Aristotle together. You see, in the ancient world, the gift we had got, was the scholar, not the B.Tech, M.A., or B.Sc. (Hons). Thus, you get the same Pythagoras, who devised the theorem, AC2 = BC2 + AB2, giving the theory of transmigration of souls – two very different subjects, philosophy and mathematics, but the very same person.† Indeed, today we do lack such people, for the very fact that, India today is not the divine land where knowledge is respected – the land where the greatest university of the time exists, but a machine designed ages ago, to churn out Indian Civil Service workers, extended beyond into independent India by mistake (rather ignorance and lack of understanding), and united with the pre-ancient Indian processes of rote-learning, to make another machine, completely satisfactory in its ability and purpose of creating doctors and engineers, who work completely like a machine, with no interest in finding new methods or discovering new techniques or findings, but just working as per the age old methods engineered earlier, or today, but certainly by foreigners. The primary cause I believe, which has led to this is the method of education provided by society on him, from day one onwards – the very same day the student sees school that is. But first, let us have a look at the ‘ideal’ student, as society – the Indian society – views him. Is it not a boy, well in attire, i.e. in a neat and clean uniform, sitting in front of the table, with a book in front of him, learning what is written in the book, by-heart, writing down all that he has learnt, and at the end of the year, coming out with flying colours in his report-card? To those who find no problem with this, my question is â€Å"Why the farce?† Why the farce of such a false scene that has been idolized, to kill even the Einstein’s that our country has created? Is it that we have been so much into this claptrap of the rote-learner being the ideal, that we form this leucoma, to fail seeing through this farcical non-sense? Now, let us have a look at the true side of this story – the story that many of us have to go through, especially the ‘hopeless’ and the ‘fools’. As the young mind enters the nursery, he is forced to accept what he is told – a good method to teach language the fast way, but, the real problem occurs, when this process is extended into subjects which require full understanding, like mathematics. The student learns that two plus two is four, rarely because two objects and two objects come in to make a number o objects we call four, but rather because it makes four, be all and end all. And practicing thus, he goes on to learn tables, least understanding, what fives times three actually means. Thus, this process of forced learning create a feeling of boredom and the people who become successful, hence, are those who can accept these facts easily, little realizing the beauty that lies behind of the subject that lies beyond it, or the logic of why they are doing such, and at times, even, what they are actually doing, as an interview I carried out on standard three and four students, indicated – they knew very well, that eight into nine is seventy-two, without even the basic knowledge of why it is not seventy-one or seventy-three for that matter; it was seventy-two because they had learnt it to be seventy two PERIOD! It reminds me of Einstein’s â€Å"Concepts that have proven useful in ordering things easily achieve such authority over us, that we forget their earthly origins and accept them as unalterable givens.†(Translated from German) Worse still happens, when we try to extend this method into higher education, especially in the science and arts streams. Speaking of science, wherein I fit, the last blow on the camel’s back comes, when we are forced to accept theory and practical as two different ‘papers’, rarely finding the link lying between them. The only aim the students form now, is to get marks by properly doing what lay in front of us, finding the ‘correct’ answer, and finally, getting the marks. After that, there is nothing more to discover, and in some experiments, they don’t even figure out what physical quantity they are measuring. Some of us again, like a very good engineer, try understanding the things, from what is written in theory, which we have learnt by reading the book – thus, we tend to believe the book at each stage, even at the cost of manipulating the results of our experiments; little do we thus learn, that the value of ‘g’ which we got as 7.9 – 8.1 is actually the correct one, and not 9.81. Thus, we even fail to realize our foolishness. Computer Science is in fact, the only exception to this rule, as in it, we know why we are doing something, clearly, at least to the level of gates, which is generally considered the base of computing – at least as far as the programmer is concerned; which is perfectly acceptable. But as far as the other subjects are concerned, it is a different story altogether. Thus, this rote-learning that most of us have to go through in many subjects, in many schools, and in many standards is the sole cause of this problem. What intensifies this, are the many competitive examinations that we, the high school students, try to prepare ourselves for. In the process, we blindly accept some facts and play as much as we can with them, to tackle the problems that would be given in the exams. Thus, we slowly and painfully, kill the scientist, which lies within someone. But what truly wait, is not more criticism, but a solution to all this; of course, it is only my thought, which I believe can work, but it is a thought that comes from first0hand experiences and realizations. So, let us begin to address this from day one. The child enters the school, knowing nothing; what he especially does not know, is the beauty of knowledge and to him, school is a dreadful place (courtesy the stories that society teaches him). Hence, this can easily break him; thus, we must first break this breaker, by allowing him to play and interact with the other students and the teachers, as time progresses, to get a firm grip on him. As the bond slowly develops, we can introduce him or her to alphabets first those of his mother-tongue, and then that of English – however, both these languages must be taught simultaneously, or at least in the same class – nursery. Thus, we must teach the child, with a caring attitude, having no concern for teaching him this much or that much, as specified by the syllabus, we can form a proper child, who is ready to learn. And as he progresses to higher subjects like mathematics, science and higher English/Bengali/Hindi, it can be taught slowly and in a manner wherein the child learns by experimentation. For example, tables can be taught, not through the usual boring and strict way of mugging up the tables up to 9, but by making him himself realize, that when two is added five times, it gives ten and making him do the exercise a number of times fully understanding how these follow, as tables. This done, the student formed would be one, who is ready to experiment, loving the subject, fully understanding what he does. At the end of the day, a student who does this, would really want to learn it faster and would do so. Going on to English, comprehension and grammar exercises and short stories can be taught, in a way that makes him realize what the content of the story is, and make him develop a reading habit; reading classes can be organized, so as to develop his reading skills, and full scale discussion of the topics, with debates, speeches, etc. can be taken in order to develop his skills in public speaking, understanding the language, etc. As for science, â€Å"everything around us is science and can be understood if tried to† can be the key to the success in this path. The children can be taught to thus observe the phenomenon around, to learn form what he sees around him and only at this stage, remember (not blindly accept) that something he sees, like wet clothes drying up when it is kept in the sun, etc.; to this note, I remember a personal experience that I cherished: in class two, when we were being taught birds, we were asked to collect feathers of birds that had fallen, in order to study them, match them to find whom they belonged to, and even discuss on them. The experience of that class, as I still remember, was the most entertaining, enthralling and enriching one ever in my life. But sad it is, that few teachers are so innovative enough to draw our full attention, and let our interest in the subject rise to such an extent, where we learn so nicely that we remember those classes for our entire life. Coming back, this process can go on thus, and as for value education, classes should be based on yearly assessment of thoughts, not as in maintaining a diary, but as a class-work. Shifting up to the high school level, children from class six onwards can be allowed to go to the practical labs, to freely experiment with the instruments upon the teachers’ instructions, observing, making systematic recordings, and last but not the least, themselves inferring from the data they find, so as to find patterns in Nature. This can be nicely done in physics, if not chemistry – at least with organic chemicals the students can experiment, as for harsh ones, the teacher can perform the experiment, making the students infer from them. Thus, an ‘experimentative’ approach and curious nature would be instilled into the child’s young mind, as he passes through this elementary level of science, giving rise to the birth of the scientist within him. He should also be given full freedom to talk on the subject in the class, alone with the teacher, in word or in writing, so as to fully clear his/her doubts, and understand the subject deeper than ever. In a line, the student should not learn the laws, but derive them out of his activities. Moving on to class nine, the first six months can be classes of revision of whatever he or she had learnt in the junior classes. Later, new topics can be introduced, and in a very similar manner, he must be taught these. Hence, the final student that would be formed would not be the marks-seeker, but a true knowledge-seeker – thus at least the scientist. As for arts, students can be introduced to philosophy at an elementary level itself, not in the form of boring lectures, but by making them philosophize on everyday happenings, historical events, problems and solutions, etc.; thus he’d not need to learn philosophy, but develop a taste for finding philosophy in everyday life. Hence, when he/she will read texts of great authors, he’d immediately find the essence of it all. The same goes for commercial applications and economics, where he can be made to realize the truth behind all the business policies – through stories, and even experiments in the form of mock business sessions (even on very small imaginary ones, like buying a product of Rs. 2), to make the students understand the principles behind the complex business policies. He should also be given the proper mathematical background required behind this, as in pure statistics and some of pure and applied mathematics, and if a student is found interested more in some subject, which is not in his syllabus, he can well be taught the lesson after school. This method I believe,, will surely create not only a true student, but also a complete human being. As for the so-called ‘boring’ subjects of history and geography, it is the method of teaching alone, that makes all the difference. History can be taught by first drawing the interest of the student. Ancient history is a good place to start this practice, by making history an extension of literature and logic combined. He can be †¦ taught to learn not the whats alone, but taught more importantly the ‘why’s and hence, the deeper ‘how’s!