Cell phones should not be allowed in schools Essay

A student with a cell phone is an uninterested student, one with a short attention span who cares more about socializing than education. When I was teaching, all too often I turned around from writing something on the blackboard to find students text-messaging or otherwise playing with their phones. Come the end of the term, a handful of students would fail the class and far too many would drop out of school. The onus for failure should be placed on distractions in the classroom, specifically cell phones. Parents think of cell phones as a connection to their children in an emergency. But I wonder what the last situation was that genuinely called for an immediate phone call to a child. In most cases, contacting the hospital or the police would seem more urgent. And parents can always call the school’s main office to reach their children. Cell phones are status symbols for teenagers because when their phone rings while the teacher is talking, everyone laughs. Because playing vid eo games on their cell makes them look cool. Because text messaging their friend in the next room is more fun than learning about topic sentences. So is listening to the new Three 6 Mafia song they just downloaded onto their cell. And saying students can store their phones in the locker is a joke. If they have cell phones, they’re going to bring them to class. —Jesse Scaccia Former English teacher, Franklin D. Roosevelt High School, Brooklyn, N.Y. NO Schools make rules to facilitate a quality education in a respectful and safe environment. Cell phones are a distraction in classrooms and have no place there. I support rules banning their use—by students and staff—in the classroom. But cell phones should not be banned from students’ possession entirely, because that is, in effect, not allowing students to have cell phones while traveling to and from school. My children’s time before school and after should not be under the school’s control. Making sure my children have cell phones and can contact me during those times is my right as a parent. It’s not just about safety or reassurance. Yes, I want my kids to call each morning when they arrive at school and each afternoon when they leave, and there are so few pay phones anymore on which to do that. But my children’s lives are also enriched by the freedom to travel to a variety of extracurricular activities or social engagements without an adult chaperone. That is only possible because an adult is just a phone call away. If my  children are not allowed to keep their cell phones during the school day—off and in their backpacks or lockers—the school system is governing my parenting and my children’s behavior during non-school time. The school has no such right. Besides, teachers should be teaching, not spending precious time tagging and bagging confiscated electronics. I trust my kids to make responsible and respectful choices, and I trust their teachers and administrators to do the same. —Elizabeth Lorris Ritter Parent, Bronx High School of Science, New York Allowing cellphones to school would be equivalent to giving an open invitation to distraction. This is because with so many activities in a single gadget, students are bound to be tempted to indulge in them, hence deviating from the main objective of coming to school. Their concentration towards studies would deteriorate as they would be busy fiddling with their cellphones. Teachers would also get distracted, as it is likely that the cellphones will ring during class, destroying the tempo of the entire class. Not only this, with a cellphone in everyone’s hands, there would naturally be unhealthy competition to see who has got the latest model and the hottest brand. This would only increase the worries and expenditure of parents as every student would pester their parents to buy them new cellphones. Also it would make students with not so latest cellphones be a victim of inferiority complex. Worse still, it may also create a barrier or ‘cellphone-fuelled class differenceà ¢â‚¬â„¢ between students as cellphones models and brands are now considered a status symbol. Bringing cellphones to school would also pave way for theft. With expensive cellphones in every other person’s bag, anyone could steal a cellphone, disrupting discipline and making school a very unsafe place. Many people argue that a cellphone allows parents to stay in touch with their children and remain informed about their whereabouts and anything that they need to. This, however, is also possible without a cellphone, as schools have phones and any important information can be conveyed through it. Cellphones can be seen as a means employed by students for cheating during examinations. They can simply text anyone and ask for assistance. Not only this, it can give rise to after school gang activities and be misused in many ways, like making prank calls just for fun. This can  lead to serious consequences and cause unnecessary panic as well as waste time. The aforementioned points clearly establish the fact that the reasons for not allowing cellphones in schools are based on clear reservations and not on flimsy grounds, hence cellphones should not be allowed at schools. In recent times, the number of people owning mobile phones has increased dramatically. Now mobile phones are not just for calling, but you can now text, take and send pictures, record videos, access the internet, play games and much more. The variety of functions has increased dramatically. They have also become a lot cheaper. Thus more and more young people now own a mobile. So should they be allowed to bring them to school? Mobile phones can cause a distraction in education. They can disturb teachers and students. For example, if you were working hard on a piece of work, concentrating hard, and a person’s phone rings, it disrupts the whole class. You may become side-tracked or the teacher may be interrupted during speaking to the class. Thus teaching would be constantly disrupted if this kept happening. Thus education standards would deteriorate. Looking then at long term effects, if this was happening every day, you would be wasting five minutes a day, so nearly half an hour a week, and so that would be over ten hours a year of disruption. Also, mobile phones provide a large temptation to cheat in tests. They can communicate to almost anywhere and anyone in the world. Because they are small, students can quietly and discreetly send a text and it can go unnoticed. You got to school to learn, not to waste time playing games or cheating in tests. Research has proven that frequent use of a mobile phone can put the owner at risk of long term health damage. Mobile phones have radiation in them which they send out which can destroy or damage cells. Thus a student who uses a mobile phone regularly is at risk of health damage. With the increase in ownership of mobiles, there is increased usage and so the students are putting themselves at risk more and more of health damage. Also younger students may not be properly educated on phone usage. Most phones nowadays have internet access on them.

Australian poems Essay

The First Australians is a poem expressing Troy Hopkins’ hatred towards white settlers because of how they claimed Australia and labeled the natives ‘Aboriginal’. He called it an invasion, not a settlement and he says that the natives were the first ones there so they shouldn’t call them â€Å"aboriginal†. Hopkins then tells how the white settlers spilt the native’s blood on ‘sacred ground’ and they get rewarded for it. Hopkins speaks of Lex Wotton who is an aboriginal man who helps other aboriginals in places that they struggle such as court, because the juries are white australians. Lex Wotton eventually went to prison and is now an inspiration to Hopkins. The author then goes on to talk about an aboriginal by the name of Richard Saunders, who was an aboriginal who died in prison due to poor treatment, Hopkins explains how no ‘Blacks’ are taken care of in prison because they are ‘expendable’. Hopkins says that he has ‘seen a pattern’, which is that aboriginal people are persecuted worse than white Australians and even half-cast aboriginals. Hopkins talks about how his daughter is a half-cast aboriginal and she wants to have true black skin like her father, but he tells her that she doesn’t want that because to him it is a curse. Hopkins believes that to the aborigines, Australia is a dictatorship, not a democracy. The author thanks the SBS channel for sharing the aboriginals beliefs and that it’s kept them hopeful that some white Australians believe the same. Hopkins ends with a powerful line which reads ‘Aboriginal is abbreviated, it means Abolish Original. We are The First Australians here; they are convicts, which are criminals’. ‘GAGADJU WAYS’ By Bill Neidjie: In the poem ‘Gagadju Ways’, the poet Bill Neidjie talks about the old, traditional Aboriginal way of life and how the old practices are slowly vanishing due to colonization. the poem is written in a peculiar way, a simple yet grasping format which puts across the views in a straight forward fashion. the poet first reminices that when he was growing up, he had good people around him. He says that the people now are a bit wicked. due to colonization he met have met some ‘foreign’ people living in his own country and yet not treating him nicely. there is a posibility that he misses the companionship of his own people before the ‘outsider’ stepped in and began dominating him. They tried to made him feel like a stranger in his country. Nextly he tells us how the white man brought school and the Aboriginals began losing all their knowledge. It got in the way of their traditional upbringing and acted as a binding on them. the white man’s ‘education’ brought them no good. the poet talks on the behalf of all other native people and says that they never damaged the earth. when he burns grass, new grass comes up and it leads to new life. More animals come in that area after this burning. The native’s people camped at different places during different seasons but the white man doesn’t understand this. The natives look after the earth, they do not spoil it. But once again we see that the invader is unable to understand the relationship between the natives and the nature. The white man wants to exploit the land in the country to earn money from it. But the poet says that money is nothing to them, they are not crazy for money as the white man is. The natives need the earth to live because when they die, they’ll become earth. The earth is their mother and their brother. That is why they ask the invaders to leave their sacred land alone. They cannot bear their land been taken away from them because they are given birth by the earth and when they die, their ashes are going to be a part of the earth too. This poem shows us how beloved the earth is to the Aboriginals. ‘OKAY, LET’S BE HONEST’ By Robert Walker Robert Walker’s poem ‘Okay, Let’s be Honest’ is a heart wrenching poem about the suffering of an Aboriginal boy. He tells us honestly that he is no saint, he wasn’t born in heaven. He is called a bastard, animal and trouble maker by many. He admits that he has been mean and hateful. Since the age of eleven he had been in and out of jail. He confesses that he has been dangerous and commited crimes. Then he suddenly tells us that he has always cursed his skin which is neither black nor white, just another ‘non-identity’, fighting to be Mr Tops. The accusers who have called him an animal were the silent audience when his brothers were getting smashed. His memory is still wet with his mother’s tears and by his father;s grave. His family was one among the many black families who were alona and lost in the race for money. He was made aware of his differences right from a very young age. His pains educated him to either fight or lose. He was discriminated and exploited as a stranger in his own land. The scars on his brain can never be erased now and they keep him reminding how the others abused their sacred land. He is frustrated with the white man’s way of life and resists to live like him. Full of anger and complaints, he asks the white man that why is he made to live like a slave and earn the things which were once free. He refuses to be pushed aside and tramped on. He will not close his eyes to the sufferings of his people. He can no more pretend to not know what the white people are doing to his people. He shouts out in rage and says â€Å"Why do I have to close my eyes, and make believe I cannot see just what you are doing: to my people- OUR PEOPLE- and me? He is not one side at all and wants the other to came and experience the lonliness and confusion he feels within the seven by eleven cell of the prison. He again repeats that he is no saint but then surely he wasn’t born in heaven. This is a very strong and evocative poem that depicts the anger in the minds of the blacks in Australia. FROM THE ENGLISH QUEEN By Henry Lawson: The poet addresses the English Queen as an ordinary woman. She is kept in a palace and people worship her. The poet boldly says that those people must be blind to call that ‘dull old woman’ the ‘Queen’. The reason for the poet to be so openly rude about the Queen is that she has reigned for so many years but has scarcely done a kind deed to anyone alive. It is said in scorn that the poor sre starved the same day she was born. The poet complains that yet she is praised and worshipped for being nothing more than an ordinary woman. Henry Lawson goes to the extent of calling her a ‘cold and selfish’ woman because he sees no point in praising her for she has never brought happiness to anyone. The Queen might be great for many but for the poet she is just a cold hearted woman who usurped his land and has no sympathy for the people. Thus a Queen who makes people suffers is no fit Queen in the eyes of the poet. ‘NOBODY CALLS ME A WOG ANYMORE’ By Komninos Zervos: The poet begins with the poem stating that nobody calls him a wog anymore. He is respected as an Australian, an Australian writer, poet. But this respect didn’t come on it’s own for the poet had to fight for it. He asserted himself as an Australian and as an artist. He stood up and screamed and fought for his identity. He teels Australia that it likes it or not but the poet is one of it. He saya his first name Komninos is rather unusual but now Australia is stuck with it and cannot do anything about it now. He tells Australia that they both need eachother. He concludes the poem by saying that he likes ustralia now because it has stopped calling him a wog and calls him ‘the Australian poet, Komninos! ’. This is a weird yet fun poem which shows us how the poet rightfully asserts his right on Australia and merges to become a part of it. ‘WHO ARE WE? ’ By Richard G Kennedy. Richard G Kennedy opens the poem with a question that asks where an aboriginal can truly be free in Australia, and how everything changed when the Europeans settled in Australia. The life before the white settlers was ‘Idyllic’ and that they had a ‘Oneness with nature’ and that they can never have that back. Kennedy explains how aboriginals now live in poverty and resort to crime to get through each day. The author tells how this is wrong and that nature is pained by the loss of the true aboriginal race. The aboriginals have no identity and are not heard amongst the white Australians. The punishment for white Australians is that the ‘Vengeful Spirit will awake’ and the earth will be cleansed of the white race. Kennedy says it’s destiny and that there’s no going back. Thus through these poems we see how varied in culture and history Australia is. The different aspects of the country make it unique and the love of its people make Australia their home inspite of many problems. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. TWO CENTURIES OF AUSTRALIAN POETRY: EDITED BY MARK O’CONNOR. (Oxford University Press, 1988). 2. THE GOLDEN TREASURY OF AUSTRALIAN VERSE (1918). 3. INTERNET.

Macroeconomic measures

Organization’s data is vital and has to be protected. This data should have relation with macroeconomic measures for success and effectiveness of the organization. Macroeconomic measures are closely coordinated with organization data for the organization to flourish. This coordination should comprise of efforts in stabilizing exchange rates and leading ultimately. Not only in organization data where microeconomic measures have an impact but also in economy as a whole in changes like unemployment, rate of growth, national income, price levels, gross domestic products and inflation.Using macroeconomic measures organization data helps in determining how well the organization is satisfying its customers. Management is in a position to determine how close organization’s target is. The organization is in a position to track its accomplishment. Through macroeconomic measures and organization’s data, it is possible recognize when an improvement is required and tracking u se of resources and how effectively they are used is possible. Organization’s data with help of macroeconomics measures offer information that supports improvement efforts (Greenwald, 1982, p. 73).Business cycles affect the performances of big drive auto by improving it and making it more effective. If big drive auto applies business cycle in time, it improves its performance. Hiring of counter cycling during recession it helps in increasing market share for big drive auto and it establishes its brand identity. It also helps in building high quality work force, lowers costs and if big drive auto cuts production and inventories then there is anticipation for recession that may cut costs relative to their competitors.Business cycle affects performance of big drive auto by radically re-designing the organization’s procedures and structure. Business cycle allows inclusion of economy-wide measures of performance offering benchmark to performance of big drive auto (Bromiley, et. al, 2008, p. 208). List of References Bromiley, P. et. al, (2008), â€Å"strategic business cycle management and organizational performance: a great unexplored research stream,† strategic organization, Vol. 6, No. 2, pp. 207-209 Greenwald, D. (1982), Encyclopedia of economics, California: McGraw-Hill

Conflict of Interests in Public-Private Partnership Essay

Conflict of Interests in Public-Private Partnership - Essay Example The growingly complex societal problems and processes have heightened the reliance of the public sector on private groups so as to attain its goals and accomplish its duties. These societal problems, as well as the inherent conflict of interests between the public and the private sector are typified by a great extent of wickedness. Wicked problems are those conflicting matters confronting the public sector that demand a consolidated partnership by public and private sectors. The civil society, industries, and governments are not capable of addressing these problems independently (Dewulf, Blanken, & Bult-Spiering 2012). This essay analyzes the assumption that the conflict of interests within public-private partnership (PPP) is a wicked problem. Public-Private Partnership: A Wicked Problem Keith Grint, exploring the social framework of leadership, defined a ‘wicked problem’ as follows (Grint 2007, p. 11): A wicked problem is complex, rather than just complicated, it is oft en intractable, there is no unilinear solution, moreover, there is no ‘stopping’ point, it is novel, any apparent ‘solution’ often generates other ‘problems,’ and there is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answer, but there are better or worse alternatives. Wicked problems within public-private partnership are characterized as recurrent or persistent problems, often defined by indecision and conflict over interests or purposes that could influence the process of decision-making (Hodge & Greve 2005). According to Grint (2005), there are no simple solutions to these wicked problems confronted by PPP. Remarkable progress can be achieved in mitigating them, but they will not be totally eradicated. But the question is, why are PPP problems considered wicked problems? First of all, organizing or forming PPP is complex due to the challenge of bringing together the objective and interests of the numerous stakeholders— the private s ector is composed of lenders, investors, and firms supplying operational and construction services; on the other hand, the private sector is made up of public officials developing and enforcing PPP guidelines, those acquiring the PPP, and the public or citizens who utilize the infrastructures that a PPP offers (Biggs & Helms 2007). Practically all of these stakeholders need to have essential knowledge of the monetary and policy matters, and how their role in the project is connected to and influenced by them. There is a clear agreement in the literature implying that the private sector performs some things excellently, the public sector other things. Theoretically, and ideally, PPP could unite the best of both worlds, but the question is, is this really happening in the actual world? All wicked problems are basically specific and unique. In other words, they are context-specific (Harris, Brown, & Russell 2012). The conflict of interests within PPP is context-specific. The public sec tor focuses on shared aims, management, and public interests. It is well-adjusted to public criticism, employment issues, â€Å"policy management, regulation, ensuring equity, preventing discrimination or exploitation, ensuring continuity and stability of services, and ensuring social cohesion (through the mixing of races and classes for example, in the public schools)† (Rosenau 2000, p. 218). In other words, the context of the public sector is directed at social responsibility. It possesses local awareness and familiarity with demanding and challenging populations.

Classic Hollywood Cinema Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 1

Classic Hollywood Cinema - Essay Example This essay prompts readers to revise Bordwells contention in a certain way. Movies have an emotional appeal that transcend gender, because these movies both demonstrate the second-class status of women in society, although Citizen Kane (1941) has shown womens subtle struggles in fighting their patriarchal society. In Citizen Kane (1941) and Shane (1953), men are the more powerful and stronger gender than women. Through a subjective camera, Welles makes the audience feel that they are breaking and entering a mans innermost property, with the â€Å"No Trespassing† sign framing the psychological intrusion into Kanes most-prized property, the Xanadu estate. Welles combines camera tilt with lap dissolves to shoot the high gate and focus on the large steel â€Å"K† sign on top of the gate. This sign stands for Kanes perception of himself as a human being and a â€Å"man,† where he is superior to his women and the people around him. In Shane, Joe (Van Heflin) and Shane work together on the ranch. They swing their axes together, as if in the harmony of brotherhood and masculinity. Their control over their environment also indicates their control over society. Through alternating shots, Stevens depicts the strength of men in the physical and psychological sense. Shane further demo nstrates the patriarchal culture of the setting through the rough-and-tumble way that men resolve their conflicts. During this time, law and order do not concretely exist yet, because America is in its â€Å"becoming† stage. The West is divided, where ranchers and homesteaders, or â€Å"squatters† as ranchers call them, are in conflict over property rights. They cannot resolve their land dispute over rational discussion, since they hate to give concessions to each other. They desire a zero-sum game, where one wins and other loses. This kind of thinking is a facet of realism, where anarchy drives

Business Research Individual Work 1 Week 11 Essay

Business Research Individual Work 1 Week 11 - Essay Example Therefore, it means that men will have less support in this case compared to women for the same cause. Thus, the mean for men becomes the most appropriate bivariate. On the other hand, when comparing support for healthy living persons between age groups of 20-30 years and that of 30-40 years, there is testing whether the mean difference of those who agree, disagree or have no opinion will be zero, more or less. The same will apply when comparing the support for the campaign meant for people between the age group of 20-30 with that of 40-60 years. The campaign for those in the 20-30 age brackets will have more people who disagree with it than those who agree. The primary reason is that the healthy needs increase with age and hence this age group has less healthy requirement. In addition, the mean of those who agree to contribute to the group of 40-60 years will be higher than the mean of those who disagree. Thus, this makes the campaign for those in the age group of 20-30 an appropriate bivariate since it will have the lesser mean in contribution. The attitude questions are suitable in the prediction of how a person reacts in certain situations (Zikmund & Babin, 2007). These questions can bring out traits like determination, perseverance, courage, and honesty. While comparing the Human Resource Manager and the Chief Executive Officers responses of â€Å"yes† â€Å"no† or â€Å"not sure† towards attitude questions, there is testing whether the mean difference of the Chief Executive Officer and that of the Human Resource Manager is zero, more or less. In most cases, those who respond in â€Å"yes† or â€Å"no† are few compared to those who give a â€Å"not sure† answer. Therefore, the most appropriate bivariate is that of â€Å"yes† or â€Å"no† answer since it has a less mean difference. In the case of one-half of the sample population

Consultancy Report Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 7500 words

Consultancy Report - Dissertation Example The report gives a brief analysis of the industrial scenario within which the firm has been operating and commercial activities carried out by the firm. For resolving the problem few quantitative and qualitative measures had been undertaken. Critical evaluation has also been from different point of view and a potential course of action in a balanced and rational measure has also been suggested. The company has been established in the year 1991 and since then it had been successfully providing the catering and support services to different sectors of industries like hospitals, schools, institute, corporate, government institutes, ministries etc. Their operation presently spreads over fifty locations in all over Oman. Support services undertaken by the company accounts for services like Laundry, cleaning etc and it deals with both the government and the private sectors. Apart from this they also undertake outdoor catering services for marriage and other functions. The company affairs a re managed by a group of qualified and experience management team. They take care of all the needs of the customers by sticking a proper balance of the art of cuisine as per the taste and preferences of the particular customer. For any function they operate from their central kitchen situated at Ghala. Introduction With Oman exhausting oil wealth resources, the role of the food and catering industry had gained its significance with time with a view of sustaining the country’s economy. The food and the catering industries were of insignificant importance when the company started but now with the growing demands and with government initiatives the industry contributes well toward the GDP of the country. The government helped majorly to get a foothold of such industry in the country’s economy. The initiative was taken in 1997 by awarding the trainees of the catering and the food industry with government certified certificates for getting trained for the industry professio nals of different hotels. In this regard the paper would analyze the problems and opportunities faced by Al Althnian Company LLC in Oman (Omaninfo, n.d.). Company Details: General Background and Industry Analysis: With the growing need Al Athnian Company LLC have entered into the trading business of the food stuffs along with the catering operation. For that they import material from different countries and supply them to the corporate and ministries. The company exerts a profound importance over the in the personal safety and health of each of its employees and the society from broader aspect. They also give importance in the environmental protection through their operations. The company maintains a safe and hygienic work environment to meet the requirement of healthy food and safety management system. The company follows a strict grading system for the staff’s welfare. They exert a profound importance over the training of their employees so that they could relate accurately to the needs of the target population and the community. This reflects the mission and philosophy of the company. The company has been segregated into different departments facilitating its smooth functioning. The departments are the operation department, personnel department, finance department, cleaning department, procurement department, logistics department, HSE department and the marketing department. Prerequisites programs are also carried out by the company which is considered as the backbone of the

Vietnam Anti-War Movement Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Vietnam Anti-War Movement - Research Paper Example It was during that period that evolution of resistance started amongst Vietnamese nationalists led by Ho Chi Minh pressing for independence. The resistance resulted to the World War 1 that took place between the years 1914 to 1918. France continued to cling to its empire but Ho embraced Marxism-Leninism and built a strong following called Vietminh. The organization prepared to assume power of their territory after the occurrence of the Second World War. The war left France very weak but partly basing its strategies on racism contempt for the Vietnamese, French officials still had a believe that they could reassert their control and power over Indochina. Vietnam Antiwar Movement was a movement against the US involvement in the Vietnam War. Opposition of the Vietnam war took place in the late 1960s and early 1970. The movement took place in form of demonstrations in the year 1964 and continued to grow in terms of strength in the later years. The U.S fell in confusion between those who preferred peace and those who advocated the continuity of involvement in the Vietnam War. The biggest numbers of the participants of the movement were mothers, students, and anti-establishment hippies. Opposition developed with the participation of the African-American civil rights, Chicano movements, women’s liberation, and organized labor sectors. Other groups that joined the movement comprised of journalists, lawyers, academics, clergy, military veterans, leaders of the Civil Rights Movement and physicians. One of the physicians who participated in the movement was Benjamin Spock. Opposition of the war was mainly conducted using peaceful and nonviolent events. However, some few events were deliberately violent and provocative. In fact, some cases called for the police to use violent tactics against all the demonstrators. By the year 1970, there was a steady increase in the majority of Americans considering involvement of the US military in Vietnam as a mistake. Decades later,

Explain and assess the role that virtue plays in Aristotle's theory of Essay

Explain and assess the role that virtue plays in Aristotle's theory of justice - Essay Example Aristotle claimed that justice should be dispensed in an appropriate manner. He also believed in the strength of virtue in changing the society. Aristotle's book, ‘Nicomachean Ethics’ explained the theory of virtue. He mentioned two kinds of virtue: the moral variety, and the intellectual variety (Raphael 2003). When Aristotle mentioned the subject of moral virtues, he spoke in reference to a person's character, and the way he conducted himself in his daily life. He stated that an individual’s character is a learned function, and not one that he was born with. Essentially, he felt that virtue was merely the balance between different extremes. The Greek term for "happiness" is pronounced as  Eudaimonia, which basically refers to maintaining a pleasant spirit. In Aristotle’s view, the highest objective of man was to maintain joy. Aristotle stressed that the definition of happiness was not merely keeping a happy face on a constant basis, or running after ple asure filled activities so that one can maintain superficial joy. This is how the current society tends to define happiness (Raphael 2003). Happiness and the possession of good morals are factors that are linked, in Aristotle’s view. ... It is probable that the founding fathers of America had this definition of happiness in mind when they declared in the declaration of independence that â€Å"the pursuit of happiness† was to be considered as an objective in the new nation. In Aristotle’s  Nicomachean Ethics, the factors that were necessary to achieve  eudaimonia were defined as self capability and decisiveness. Aristotle affirmed that these characteristics could only be achieved through individual initiative and ambition, which he referred to as the "humanistic" criterion (Raphael 2003). Aristotle also rejected the concept that the greatest good was a god given characteristic that could not be achieved without some kind of divine assistance. H e also believed that happiness was the one characteristic or aspect that was its own reward. It could not be used as a means to realise another higher state of contentment, in other words. Those who discovered real happiness, according to Aristotle, would not feel the desire for something else or to experience some other state of contentment. Aristotle categorised virtues in practical terms. He was of the opinion that virtues dealt with the activities and zeal of the activities that people took part in, and what those activities made them feel like. He divided people’s feelings to fundamental pain and pleasure codes. He was endeavouring to instruct the citizens of Athens in the right way to carry themselves. He also believed that there was no one wrong or right way to feel. In the book on ‘Nichomachean Ethics’, Aristotle affirmed that if a person participated in 'good' acts, or assisted his fellow man, he would

Economics and Government Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Economics and Government - Assignment Example Q4. Politics is as important as economics because it involves the allocation of scarce resources. I believe so because politics design systems that are used in the allocation of scarce resources (Roth 100). Q5. Targeting public transfer programs in the US affected public support for government redistribution by lowering public confidence. There was the observation that resources set aside for redistribution were being misused hence not benefiting the target public. Q6. Canada has income redistribution through minimum wages. Minimum wages target low earning individuals and reduce the gap between the rich and the poor. Minimum wages does not affect public support for government redistribution in the same way. This is because income redistribution has resulted in the public gaining confidence in the government since there is an improvement in living standards. Q7. Public insuring of healthcare expenditures in Canada has the effect of increasing support for government redistribution because it reduces the burden of paying for healthcare. The case is different in the US because the public bears the burden of covering healthcare costs. Health insurance represents a form of government redistribution because everyone is able to have access to healthcare free of charge at any public healthcare center (Mankiw 24). This is a big deal because a large portion of the population is unable to have access to healthcare services as a result of high costs. Q8. A decline in private sector unionization is an indication that the public has confidence in the government hence supporting government redistribution (Deming 11). In the case of Canada, declining private sector unionization has the same effect on public support for government redistribution. Q9. ‘Great Divergence’ refers to the process through which European countries overcame growth constraints to become the wealthiest nations

Illegal Immigration's Destructive Impact on the Economy of the United Research Paper

Illegal Immigration's Destructive Impact on the Economy of the United States of America - Research Paper Example This essay discusses that much debate has raged over immigration policies in the United States. In the past, the United States had reached out with open arms to immigrants coming from distant shores who want to make this country their home. As a result of this, we have seen America become a melting pot of cultures, offering its embrace to the poor and downtrodden. In many instances, however, the picture was far from pretty. The famous book â€Å"The Jungle†, written by Upton Sinclair, was seen by many as a shocking expose into the sordid world of the meatpacking industry and the abysmal working conditions of the meatpackers, who were composed mainly of immigrants desperate for livelihood opportunities in what for them was a completely new frontier. Few saw it for what it was meant to be: a compelling saga of the poverty hopelessness, and crime that attended the lives of the working class immigrants of America from the period spanning the end of the Civil War to the beginning o f the First World War. Unfortunately, that story takes place even today, as illegal immigrants find themselves caught in a life of poverty, dependence and crime. There are plenty of illegal immigrants in the United States, many of whom are from nearby Hispanic countries, most notably Mexico. It has been found that when the purchasing power of the dollar increases in Mexico, illegal immigration increases, suggesting that illegal immigration is brought on by economic reasons.... We refer to those who engage in drug trafficking, in human trafficking, in illegal possession of firearms, in petty crimes. The big debate therefore is what to do with these illegal immigrants. Do we send them to our jails and thus spend taxpayer’s money for their care and upkeep, or do we institute deportation proceedings and send them back to their home countries? This paper will argue that illegal immigrants who have been arrested, charged criminally and found guilty by our criminal justice system should be subjected to deportation proceedings rather than be imprisoned in domestic jails. I will argue first on the resources aspect, and will discuss how keeping them in our jails drains this country of much-needed resources especially during a time of recession. Second, I will argue on the social-economic aspect, and look into how keeping them in domestic jails can possibly worsen the crime problem, because it will still allow them to operate criminal cells here in the country . In turn, this is a problem for the economy because it encourages the black market and the criminal enterprises and syndicates that render markets imperfect. Then, I will also argue how the immigration problem is unduly clogging the dockets of the courts, making it difficult for judges and prosecutors to focus on crimes such as robbery and murder, and thus leaving communities unsafe and vulnerable and affecting local economic activity. Finally, I will argue that on the political- economic aspect, it is only deportation that can send a strong, zero-tolerance message against illegal immigration – of particular importance at a time when illegal immigration is siphoning off much-needed jobs from the local population, and is draining the nation’s coffers by using up

Chem Answers Essay Example for Free

Chem Answers Essay Exercise 1. What safety equipment is available to you while you do your experiments? How far are they from you while you are conducting your experiments?This includes fire extinguishers, phones, showers, etc. The safety equipment that I have access to while performing my experiments are as follows; shower, fire alarms and a telephone. They are all within ten feet from where the experiment will take place. 2. What is an MSDS? MSDS is a document that is required by Osha’s â€Å"Hazard Communication† for all existing chemicals that are currently sold. 3. What can make glassware unusable? Glassware is unusable in an experiment when it is chipped, broken, or cracked. 4. When should you wear goggles in the lab? You should wear safety goggles at all time. 5. How long should you wash your eyes if you get a chemical in them? If you have contact with chemicals in your eye, it should be rinsed for ten minutes. 6. What should you do if your clothing catches on fire? If your clothes should catch on fire during your experiment, you should use the safety shower if you have one. Otherwise, stop-drop-roll and yell or use a fire blanket. 7. How should you heat the liquid in a test tube to a temperature less than 100 C? If you are heating liquid in a test tube to a temperature less than 100 degrees. You should use a test tube holder, clamp and hot water. 8.   What do the following symbols mean? DangerousOxidizerRadioactiveCorrosive ________________ _________________ _______________ ______________ 9. What does each of the small diamonds in the NFPA fire diamond mean? Blue- Health section Red- Flammability Yellow- Reactivity White- Special condition 10. Why should you remove jewelry prior to entering the lab for an experiment? Jewelry should always be removed prior to an experiment. Rings can trap the chemical that you are working with against the skin. Necklaces can dangle and knock dangerous chemical over. 11. What type of clothing should you wear in lab? The type of clothing that you should wear would be; leather shoes, long pants or skirts, sturdy cotton fabric, and older clothes are advised. 12. If your Bunsen burner goes out or you smell gas, what should you do? If you should be working with a Bunsen burner and the flame should extinguish or you smell gas, turn the gas off.

Concept of Flexibility in Architecture

Concept of Flexibility in Architecture 1.0 Introduction An Overview Of The Terminology And The Conceptual Framework This chapter aims to define the meaning of the term ‘flexibility’, †Adaptability’ and ‘typological variety’ are the other concepts that related to ‘flexibility’. Both N.John Habraken (2008) and Tatjana Schneider and Jeremy Till (2007) mention that flexibility and adaptability have overlapping meanings,but the colloquial and the technical meaning can provide a departure point for their clarification and the conceptual framework of the study. The meaning of the typological variety is more obvious, it points to freedom of choice (Duygu Albostan, 2009) The English colloquial usage of the word â€Å"flexibility† is : capabilities of being bent,pliancy. Susceptibility of modification or alteration; capacity for readily adaptation to various purposes or conditions;freedom from stiffness or rigidity. (Oxford English Dictionary Online,2009) It is important to refer professional or researchers who point out the technical meanings of the concept of flexibility ,according to their changing senses over time. Andrew Rabeneck, David Sheppard and Peter Town published two articles related to flexibility and adaptability. The articled entitled â€Å"Housing Flexibility† (1973) and â€Å"Housing Flexibility/Adaptability?† (1974) â€Å"Flexibility†is proposed against â€Å"tight-fit functionalism† (p.698) They introduced the term †tight-fit functionalism† that refers to the unhealthy situation of mass housing in the twentieth century of Europe.They explain it as miniaturized living areas with the cell types rooms which do not allow any changes(1973,p.698) The unsuccessful attempts in flexibility are criticized for they may lead to what they call the ‘fallacy of freedom through control†.(1973,p.701) Flexibility housing should be capable of offering â€Å"choice† and â€Å"personalization†. (1973,p.701) Rabeneck, Sheppard and Town involve the scope of flexibility in housing project. They see flexibility as a tool to make the minimal housing environments capable of offering for ‘choice’ and ‘personalization’. They criticize flexibility can lead to too technical or complicated housing projects. The adaptability approach,in contrast to the flexible,emphasizes planning and layout rather than constructional technique and services distribution.It is based on carefully considered variations in room sizes, relationship between rooms,slightly generous openings between spaces and little overt expression of room function.(Rabeneck, Sheppard Town, 1974, p.86) Rabeneck, Sheppard and Town claim that flexibility relates to design decisions about the permanent and fixed parts of the building:the structural system and service spaces, whilst adaptability related to consideration about the architectural layouts of the remaining spaces such as the organization of the rooms, their dimensions, the relation between the rooms and their functions. The concept of flexibility deals with the ‘constructional technique and services distribution†. (1974, p.86) As previous, they claim the flexibility related to structural system and services spaces, in â€Å"Housing Flexibility/Adaptability?† (1974) they again emphasize on the construction technique and the position of service spaces. They also compare the flexibility with adaptability. They claim that adaptability more towards the architectural layout. Herman Hertzberger emphasized the importance of the concept of flexibility in architectural design in his book entitled Lessons for Students in Architecture (1991). According to Hertzberger flexibility suggest and open-ended solution,which refers to what is called ‘rhetotic value’of flexibility that defines by Schneider and Till (2005). Flexibility signifies-since there is no single solution that is preferable to all others-the absolute denial of a fixed, clearcut standpoint. The flexible plan starts out from the certainly that correct solution does not exist Although a flexible set-up admittedly adapts itself to each change as it presents itself, it can never be the best and most suitable to any one problem;it can at any given moment provide any solution but most appropriate one. (1991, p.146) From Hertzberger’s perspective, flexibility refers to the caple of proposing different solutions for diverse users with no certain single solution but most appropriate one. He discussed flexibility in a different perspective by introducing the term ‘polyvalence’ which means a characteristic of a static form, a form that can be put into different users without having undergo changes itself, so that a minimal flexibility can still produce an optimal solution. (1991, p.147) Steven Groà ¡k discussed the difference between flexibility between flexibility and adaptability from a different perspective in his book entitled The Idea Of Building: Though and Action in the Design and Production of Buildings (1992). The spatial organization and internal environment may be suitable for only a limited array of uses. Here we should distinguish between ‘adaptability’, taken to means †capable of different social uses†, and â€Å"flexibility†, taken to means â€Å"capability of different physical arrangement†. The building’s capacity for accommodating changed uses will depend on the extent to which it is adaptable and/or flexible. (Groà ¡k, 1992, p.15-17) Groà ¡k tries to explain the the adaptability related to the use of space whilst flexibility refers to different physical arrangement.He emphasize that flexibility is valid not only for interior but also for the exterior adjustments. In this respect,it can be inferred that Groà ¡k agrees with the definition of Rabeneck, Sheppard and Town. Gerard Maccreanor explained the relation between the concepts of flexibility and adaptability by emphasizing the flexibility includes adaptability as well.(1998) Flexibility is a â€Å"designed idea that leads to the collapse of the traditional layout†. (1998, p.40) Adaptability is a different way of viewing flexibility.The adaptable building is both transfunctional and multifunctional and must be allow the possibility of changing use; living into working,working into leisure or as a container of several uses simultaneously. Adaptability is not primarily concerned with a designed idea of flexibility based on the collapse of the traditional layout. An apparent robust identity and enduring presence within an urban context is required that allows the building to cope with future needs and changing conditions. (Maccreanor, 1998, p.40) Flexibility has for a long time been a subject of interest for architects. In the years to follow this resulted in many buildings with open, changeable planning around fixed service cores.One conclusion is that flexibility doesn’t simply imply the necessity of endless change and breakdown of accepted formula. On the contrary, the buildings that have proven to be the most adaptable, were those not originally planned for flexibility. (Maccreanor, 1998, p.40) Maccreanor points out flexibility is neither a characteristic of indeterminate space that allows â€Å"endless change†, nor is it a characteristic of detrminate space with too much technical equipments.In other words, if architects leave thir buildings open for infinitely different solutions for the users;they lead to â€Å"open-endedness † (Scheneider Till, 2005, p.158) and â€Å"uncertainty† (Hertzberger, 1991, p.117). By the same token,if architects put more emphasis on flexibility through building with movable partition, they will create â€Å"false neutrality† as a result of too much technical or strictly defined spaces (Schneider Till, Theory, 2005, p.158). They are the two controversial approaches to flexibility in architectural design that belong rather to â€Å"the rhetoric of flexibility† by Schneider Till (2007, p.5) Gerard Maccreanor has a different view about flexibility. He said that flexibility does not imply ‘an endless change’. He also asserted that the building which are not originally design for flexibility, can be the most adaptable one. Adrian Forty (2000) deals with flexibility as an issue that requires long-term thinking in architectural design. The incorporation of â€Å"flexibility† into the design allowed architects the illusion of projecting their control over the building into the future, beyond the period of their actual responsibility for it. (Forty, 2000, p.143) The confusion in meaning of â€Å"flexibility† is based on two contradictory roles: †it has served to extend functionalism and so make it variable† and â€Å"it has been employed to resist functionalism. (200, p.148)

Brand Equity of HP Laptops

Brand Equity of HP Laptops Introduction As the lifestyle is changing, needs of people are changing accordingly from more technology prone to advancement in electronic devices usage. People want faster paced life, leading to endless dreams to be fulfilled. Desire to achieve excellence in all departments of life makes life more interesting and increases the positive vibrance. Belonging to this information technology era, life without laptops is unimaginable. Laptop sales in India are at an all time high, due to the growth of a new breed of technology conscious IT users. There has been a drastic shift in working environments coupled with a lifestyle which is always on the move. Besides the work-related market, various other segments are capitalizing on these handy portable computers. A large number of households and students are using these portable PCs for entertainment and study purposes respectively. Industry Background Laptops are popularly used in India more for their portability rather than mobility. Portability has become the number one factor as to why more Indians are buying these portable PCs. The laptop market in 2009 saw a significant growth. Seen as just the right size to fit on someones lap, laptops are taking the Indian market by storm and are certainly giving desktop computers a run for their money. The laptop market in India recorded sales of 7.7 lakh units, growing at 13% in the first half of 2009-10. The major players in the Indian market are HP, Compaq, Dell, Lenovo, Apple and Acer. Quarterly notebook PC shipment and forecast report stated that 31 million units were shipped in the first quarter of 2009, noting that the notebook PC market shrank 6% on quarter, but increased 35% on year during the period. HP remained in the lead for seven consecutive quarters with a shipment around two million units over number two Dell in the first quarter of 2009-10. HPs market share was over 20% for six consecutive quarters. The most popular panel size and resolution was still 15.4-inch with a resolution of 1280ÃÆ'-800, which accounted for almost 50% of all notebook PCs shipped in the quarter, while the 14.1-inch segment with a 1280ÃÆ'-800 resolution trailed behind with a 22% share. The general features that people look for while making a decision on the laptop are: Processing Speed of Laptops The laptops processing speed depends on the usage. Consumers generally go for Intel Core Duo processors or Athlon. If the requirement is a high end laptop, then consumers can opt for Core 2 Duo or Quad Core processors. Operating System At present Windows Vista is the operating system in the laptop market. Recently Windows 7 has been launched and laptop vendors are slowly shifting to the latest operating system. Other Operating Systems like Linux can be got on request. Screen Screen size is usually 14.1 or 15.4. But consumers are going for bigger screen sizes also. The 17 laptop sales have increased in the recent months, but still is not very high. Hard Drives 160 GB hard disks is the usual attachment in most of the laptops. These are the features which one should consider before buying laptops. Searching laptops in Indian market will be easy as all the information is available online. Company Background HP is a technology company that operates in more than 170 countries around the world. They explore how technology and services can help people and companies address their problems and challenges, and realize their possibilities, aspirations and dreams. HP applies new thinking and ideas to create more simple, valuable and trusted experiences with technology, continuously improving the way our customers live and work. No other company offers as complete a technology product portfolio as HP. They provide infrastructure and business offerings that span from handheld devices to some of the worlds most powerful supercomputer installations. They offer consumers a wide range of products and services from digital photography to digital entertainment and from computing to home printing. This comprehensive portfolio helps them match the right products, services and solutions to their customers specific needs. HP India, established in the year 1988, holds the distinction of being one of the first technology companies to set up a base in India. HP in India is one of the largest and most diverse sites for HP outside of the US. HP started its India Software Operations (ISO) in 1989 at Bangalore to deliver enterprise software solutions, product and RD services to HP customers worldwide. Over the past year, HPs presence and product portfolio has expanded to mirror almost every activity the company undertakes, be it software engineering, IT services, RD, BPOs among others. HP India became a billion dollar company in 2005 and continues to expand its presence. HP is the leader in the laptop market in India. HP laptops feature powerful performance and attractive designs and this is the reason they are the number 1 selling brand in India. Need for the Study There are a lot of new brands of laptops available in the market. Many international players are entering the Indian market to try and capture a chunk of this huge market. We would like ascertain whether HP brand, which is currently doing well, will continue to do well in the future also or does it need to change any of its approach with respect to its brand performance. This project is restricted to the brand equity only. Objectives of the Study To measure brand equity of HP laptops Conceptual Framework Brand Equity Brand equity refers to the marketing effects or outcomes that accrue to a product with its brand name compared with those that would accrue if the same product did not have the brand name. And, at the root of these marketing effects is consumers knowledge. In other words, consumers knowledge about a brand makes manufacturers/advertisers respond differently or adopt appropriately adept measures for the marketing of the brand. The study of brand equity is increasingly popular as some marketing researchers have concluded that brands are one of the most valuable assets that a company has. Brand equity is one of the factors which can increase the financial value of a brand to the brand owner, although not the only one. Brand equity is measured as a combination of the following five factors: Brand Awareness Brand Loyalty Perceived Quality Brand Association Other Proprietary Assets Brand Awareness Brand awareness is a marketing concept that measures consumers knowledge of a brands existence. At the aggregate (brand) level, it refers to the proportion of consumers who know of the brand. It can measured using the following measures: Aided Recall Either the brand name or both the brand name and category name are presented to respondents. Unaided Recall The product category name is given to respondents who are asked to recall as many brands as possible that are members of the category. Top of Mind Recall The first brand that comes to the mind of customers is recorded. Brand Loyalty Brand loyalty consists of a consumers commitment to repurchase or otherwise continue using the brand and can be demonstrated by repeated buying of a product or service or other positive behaviors such as word of mouth advocacy. The various measures for calculating brand loyalty are: Switching Cost Liking Satisfaction Waiting Time Shopping Effort Willingness to Bear Additional Cost Perceived Quality Perceived quality is defined as the customers perception of the overall quality or superiority of a product or service with respect to its intended purpose relative to alternatives. We have measured the perceived quality of the overall brand under the following measures: Performance Features Conformance with Specifications Reliability Durability Fit and Finish Serviceability Brand Association A key to building brand is to strengthen the associations. A brand association is anything, i.e. a word, a picture, a person, etc. related to a brand. The association not only exists but also has strength, uniqueness to the brand and favorability in the minds of the consumers. Other Proprietary Assets The three most important proprietary assets are: Name Logo Slogan Methodology Sample Size We have taken a sample size of 15 respondents. It consisted of 12 males and 3 females of varying ages, across the country. Data Collection analysis Methods The following tools were used to collect data: Focus group discussions (FGDs) Questionnaires Data Analysis Tools SPSS 16.0 for Windows, MS Excel Brand Awareness Brand Awareness is the extent to which a brand is recognized by potential customers, and is correctly associated with a particular product. It is usually expressed as a percentage of target market. Brand awareness is the primary goal of advertising. Brand awareness conveys the intensity of knowledge and understanding that a consumer has about a product or brand. This is usually measured through the three measures Top of Mind Recall, Unaided Recall Aided Recall. Unaided recall Top of Mind Recall Unaided Recall is a market research technique used to test the effectiveness of brands, advertisements and commercials in which respondents are asked certain questions to learn whether they are familiar with a particular company, brand, slogan, product or service. In our survey the respondent was asked to mention the names of laptops they know or have heard about. Out of the unaided recalled brands, the first brand that the respondent mentions is the top of mind recall. Top of mind awareness is there when people can easily recall a brands name. Top of mind reacall usually is associated with the brand being in the short term memory. Top of mind awareness is very desirable in target prospects who are likely to buy because it is when they are considering buying an item you really want them to remember a particular brand. The responses obtained are indicated in the table below. In the calculations for the brand equity score, top of mind being an important parameter was given 100 points. To calculate the top of mind score for a particular brand, the percentage of people who mentioned the particular brand in their top of mind recall was calculated out of total respondents. Thus HP laptops got a score of 47 or 47% which is 7 as a percentage of 15. The maximum score for unaided recall was fixed at 70. The brand with the highest frequency was given a score of 70 and the brands that followed were given scores of 60 50 each. Interpretation Out of 15 respondents, HP brand had the highest top of mind recall, followed by Compaq, Lenovo Dell, which had equal responses. This shows that the investments by HP in their advertisement / marketing communications have been relatively effective. But still considering that only 47% respondents recollected HP from the top of mind, HP should consider investing more in their advertisement campaigns. Top of Mind recall happens with higher repetitions and exposure to advertisements. Advertisements emphasizing the brand HP have to be repeated. This will also help because HP has a wide product assortment. In case of unaided recall, HP Dell were leading with very high scores, followed by Compaq, Lenovo and Toshiba. This shows that people know these brands as laptop brands. The objective of this measurement is to measure the extent to which respondents remembered the brand when the actual brand name is prompted. A list of laptop brands was given to the respondent and they were asked to select the brands they were aware of. We deliberately included a couple of brands which did not have laptops. Surprisingly people who selected these brands were very less and there seems to be a very high level of awareness about laptop brands. The response obtained is indicated in the table alongside. Interpretation HP, Dell, Compaq Lenovo had 100% awareness or all respondents who participated in the survey were aware about these brands as a laptop brand. Aided awareness was scored out of 50 and the brands with maximum awareness were given a score of 50, second best as 40 etc. We do not need to do anything on this front to increase awareness about HP as a laptop brand. 2. Brand loyalty Brand loyalty of the customer is often the core of a brands equity. It reflects how likely a customer will be able to switch to another brand. Brand loyalty is closely tied to experience and is different from other major dimensions of brand equity. The following scores were obtained by the brands against the four factors associated with Loyalty. Cross Tabs: The cross tabulation was done to see how many people from the group of 15 conform to various parameters. The various cross tabulation are shown as under: PreferredBrand * PurchasedBrand The first cross tabulation was done to find out number of people among the group who have purchased the brand which they prefered. So the cross tabulation was done between the prefered brand and the purchased brand. The results of the same are shown below. The above table and the graph below show that only 2 people have purchased HP out of the 6 people who prefered the brand HP, for Compaq it was 2 out of 2 and none for Compaq. RecommendBrand * PurchasedBrand This cross tabulation was done to see how many people would recommend the brand who have purchased the brand. The table shows 60 % people who have purchased the Compaq would recommend the brand to people, 100% who have purchased the HP would recommend HP and 80% who have purchased the Lenovo would recommend Lenovo. Perceived quality Perceived quality is defined as the customers perception of the overall quality or the superiority of a product or service with respect to its intended purpose relative to alternatives. It is also a measure of goodness that spreads over all elements of the brand. It is elevated to the status of the brand asset is helps business to gain financial advantage and gives a strategic thrust which in turn drives how the other aspects of brand is looked. We conducted two focussed group discussions (FGD) to find out the factors which customers perceive as important for accessing the quality of the laptops. The FGDs resulted in 9 factors which were then cross verified through secondary research study. Three factors Battery Life and Time to Charge had to be removed because of the lack of the suitability in terms of quality image. The rest six factors were taken into account while deciding the perception of the quality of the laptops. Thus, the seven factors used for assessing the perceived quality for calculating the final brand equity score are: Performance Features Conformance to specifications Reliability Durability Fit and finish Serviceability The users of the brands HP, Lenovo and Compaq were asked to rate the above attributes on a scale of 1 to 10 (10-Excellent, 1-Poor). In the following explanation of the different factors, the aggregate score is the sum of the score given by all the 15 respondents and the average reflects the aggregate score divided by the number of respondents (15 in our case). The maximum points allotted to each of the factors is100. So the score of each of the factors is then calculated based on the average score. Performance The performance of the laptops is an important factor as it is critical for the overall perception of the customer in terms of quality of the laptop. The performance is compared across the brands having the same features so that there is no bias and the comparison in not done for two extremely different series laptops. As it came out in FGDs, this is also related to how the laptop performs like no crash, no hangs, smooth operation and other similar sub attributes. The performance score of the three brands is shown in the table below: HP scores highest with an average score of 8 followed by Lenovo with 6.93 and Compaq at last with a score of 6.87. Interpretation The customers have a favourable perception for HP in terms of performance of the laptops. The Lenovo and Compaq are close together with almost same perception for performance. The HP laptops outscore both of the other brands by almost 10 points. The same perception had also been received in the FGDs and so there is no difference of perceptions between the surveys and FGDs. Features The customers today look for the customization and so crave for the number of features available for the different laptops. The range of features and the depth under each component become important now because they affect the customer perception for the quality and affect the buying favourability for a brand. HP again scored highest in this category with an average score of 8.27 followed by Compaq with an average of 7 and at last Lenovo with a score of 6.8. Interpretation The customers feel that the feature loaded laptops are of good quality and as most of the HP laptops are feature loaded, they are rated higher in terms of the features. The Lenovo and Compaq laptops come with some standard specifications which mostly are basic ones. Though they can be customised as per needs but the number of options available for different components (depth) are still limited. This doesnt go favourable with the customers and it is reflected in the score given by them to Lenovo and Compaq laptops as compared to HP which scores higher. Conformance to Specifications Customers choose the features and specification to get the laptops which conform to them and perform accordingly. So conformance to the specifications becomes an important factor here. The table below shows the score obtained by the three brands on this parameter. HP stands at top with an average of 7.73 followed by Lenovo at 6.93 and then Compaq with 6.8. Interpretation: HP has a favourable impression in the minds of the customers as they feel that HP conforms to the specifications and this makes them give it the highest score. The other brands of laptops are not far behind which shows that there is not much different in the perception of these brands as far as the conformance to the specifications is concerned. All three adhere to the specifications and even the fact that HP has highest score cant be considered as a great differentiator in terms of perceived quality. Reliability Score The perception about reliability of a product directly contributes to the brand equity for a mobile device like laptop which is employed for multiple uses. The surveys FGDs we conducted indicated how reliability as an important component of perceived quality. Respondents wanted their laptops for mobile needs, especially students for project works executives who had to do presentations on the go. More than anything, reliability was connected to loss of data due to laptop related malfunctioning  which could never be compensated.   The reliability scores obtained by the brands are indicated in the table above. Each respondent was asked to rate the three laptop brands on their perception about reliability of the brand. The final reliability score was found by aggregating the scores given by all respondents and then finding the average. Interpretation The results indicated that HP Lenovo scored 75 out of 100 for reliability, followed by Compaq with a score of 66. This is inline with the two brands various marketing communications that emphasise on reliability. Lenovo the erstwhile IBM Thinkpad always portrayed a sturdy image, with protections even against accidental drops and first of its kind features like locking hard disk during a fall. HP also proposes its high reliability through marketing communications. Compaq, a value brand from the HP stable is perceived to be less reliable compared to the parent brand HP. The perception about durability of a product directly contributes to the brand equity especially when it is an expensive to own item like a laptop. Our survey told that a normal customer tends to consider using a laptop for atleast 3 4 years and minimise the cost on the equipment. Also the FGDs indicated that laptops are very expensive to maintain and replacements of parts are a very expensive business. Thus durability was used as an element to compute brand equity score. The brand scores on the parameter durability was again calculated by aggregating scores given by individual respondents on perceived durability of the three brands. The average was found and a percentage of the maximum score of 10 was found to provide the brands score on durability. Interpretation The table indicates that HP Lenovo are perceived to be of nearly the same durability (Lenovo a little more). But Compaq lags heavily in the perception about durability. This could be due to the positioning of HP Lenovo as premium brands, while Compaq is always positioned as a low price, value based product. Another inference we may take from this could be that price and premiumness can cause a difference in perception of quality in the minds of customers. A customer may be ready to pay more for a product considering that durability is directly related to the price of the product. In the FGDs conducted, we got views that the laptop a person carries communicates a lot about his personality. Hence the fit finish is given a lot of importance during laptop purchases. We had included fit finish as a component of perceived quality and gave equal importance to this parameter with a maximum score of 100 associated to it. The above table indicates the scores obtained by the brands for fit finish parameter. The respondents were asked to rate the three laptops on a maximum score of 10 points. The aggregate score was calculated and average was obtained for the 15 respondents. This was then transformed to a score of maximum score of 100. Interpretation It was found that HP had the highest score on the parameter fit finish. HP laptops have always been famous for their stylish designs, and designer exteriors. HP frequently comes up with limited editions, with specially designed exteriors, giving rich look to the laptop. Compaq was rated as the next best. Compaq, being a product targeted at the value segment, has always designed its laptop in a simple and elegant manner in contrast to the bold and stylish designs of HP. We can see that Lenovo lags heavily in this parameter. Lenovo retained the original IBM Thinkpad designs. Lenovo gives lesser importance to external visual appeal focussing more on ergonomics, robustness and reliability. This was also indicated in the FGDs where Lenovo laptops were criticised for the dull exteriors. Most respondents admitted they were not satisfied with the looks and they modified the looks by applying laptop skins available in the market. Serviceability refers to the ability of technical support personnel to install, configure, and monitor laptop products, identify exceptions or faults, debug or isolate faults to perform root cause analysis, and provide hardware or software maintenance in pursuit of solving a problem and restoring the product into service. Incorporating serviceability facilitating features typically results in more efficient product maintenance and increases value for the brand in the minds of the customer. During the FGDs, many participants shared the various faults that their laptops had generated and how easy or difficult they found it to get it serviced at an authorized centre. The following table lists the scores for serviceability for the different laptop brands out of a maximum of 100. The respondents were asked to rate the three laptops on a maximum score of 10 points. The aggregate score was calculated and average was obtained for the 15 respondents. This was then transformed to a score of maximum score of 100. Interpretation HP was rated the best serviceable laptop followed by Compaq and Lenovo. HP service centres or HP-authorized service centres are available all over India. Therefore customers find it very easy to simply carry their laptops to the nearest service centre and get it serviced. Compaq laptops are also serviced by HP service centres. Since exclusive Compaq service centres are not widespread, people still perceive that the serviceability is not very high for Compaq, while in reality it should equal that of HP. Lenovo has mainly authorised service centres and its not as widespread as compared to the other two brands. Therefore, it has got a low score for serviceability. Having exclusive Lenovo service centers in all major cities in India may help in improving the perception of the customers. Brand Association The FGDs were conducted to get the exhaustive list of the possible associations for the three brands- HP, Lenovo and Compaq. The associations were then used in the questionnaire to select the top two associations from the respondents for each of the three brands. The surveyed people were then asked to rate (5-highest, 1-lowest) the two associations selected by them. The tables below show the scores obtained by each of the associations under different categories. The top two associations were then converted into the score for the three parameters- Strength of Association, Favourability and Attitude. The Business and the Performance came out to be the top two associations with the HP laptops. When converted to score it comes out to be as follows: The brand celebrity association for HP is also seen as Mr. Amitabh Bachchan who justifies the Business and Performance score too. The animal association for the brand HP also comes out to be Tiger and Lion in equal numbers of 4 each. So the animal association for HP is the Big Cat Family Animals. This can be because the people relate these animals for the performance and focussed attitude like in business. The Tough/Robust and Features came out to be the top two associations with the Lenovo laptops. When converted to score it comes out to be as follows: The brand celebrity association for Lenovo is also seen as Mr. Saif Ali Khan who justifies the Tough/ Robust and Feature rich image of the brand Lenovo. This association may be because he is also a brand ambassador for Lenovo. The animal association for the brand Lenovo is Dog as seen from the responses of the people who responded to the survey. Six people out of 15 said Dog as the animal which should be associated with the Lenovo laptops. This brings out the features of the laptop which shows they are trustworthy, robust and extremely rich in features. The brand celebrity association for Compaq is seen as Mr. Shahrukh Khan who justifies the Affordability and Service image of the brand Compaq. This association may be because he is also a brand ambassador for Compaq. The animal association of Compaq comes out to be Cat which sort of justifies the affordability part. 5.Other proprietary Assets The three proprietary assets studied in this survey were Name, Logo Slogan. This was important as any marketing communication will be using the three assets and the impact these makes will determine the brand equity and hence the consumption of a brand. The respondents were asked to rate the three brands for the three assets on the basis of the three factors Attractiveness, Effectiveness, Uniqueness For example, the respondent was asked about how attractive, effective and unique the name of HP laptop is, followed by the logo and slogan of HP. The scores for each factor was calculated by finding the aggregate score given by all the respondents and then the average. The final score of each brand against each of the assets were found by multiplying the score of the asset against the three factors. Name It was found that name HP had a very high score in all the three dimensions and has the highest score of 49 among the three brands. Compaq follows HP and the name Lenovo was found to have scored the least and was found to score the least among the three brands in each of the dimensions except uniqueness, where it stands second. Interpretation The name of HP was found to score an average of 7.8 out of 10 for uniqueness, 8 for effectiveness and 7.8 for attractiveness. This indicates that the name HP is contributing to the brand equity. But in the case of Lenovo, we see that the name scores very low in terms of attractiveness and effectiveness. Such brands may consider re-launching products under different brand names or a brand like Lenovo can for brand extensions with more attractive names 2. SLOGAN The above table indicates the ratings for slogan of the three brands on the dimensions of attractiveness, effectiveness and uniqueness. The slogans were given to the respondents namely HP Laptops are Personal Again, Compaq Inspiration Technology, Lenovo New World. New Thinking Interpretation We can observe that HP scores highest for slogan, followed by Lenovo and Compaq. Though the slogan for HP scores highest relatively, the score seems to be low. This could be because the respondents are not able to relate the slogan to the product or because they are not able to associate it with themselves. This could be because HP used this slogan initially for desktops when it came up with the slogan Computers are personal again. But laptops are always personal equipments for self usage and saying Laptops are Personal Again does not make any more impact. Looking at the other two brands, Lenovo and Compaq lag heavily and needs considerable improvement in their slogan. This could even be due to lack of sufficient exposure of the slogan to customers or again inability of the customers to relate slogan with themselves or the product. 3. LoGo The above table indicates the ratings for logo of the three brands on the three dimensions. The respondents were shown the different logos of the three brands and asked them to rate them against attractiveness, effectiveness uniqueness. As we can see, HP scored the highest for the logo, followed by Compaq and Lenovo. Interpretation HP has a very high score for brand logo, with very high score in each of the dimensions Attractiveness, effectiveness and uniqueness. Compaq follows and Lenovo was found to lag heavily in this dimension too The above table indicates the brand equity score of the three brands. We can find that the brand under study HP has scored the highest score of 1405 out of 1920. It clearly indicates why HP is the market leader in this range of laptops. Compaq from the HP stable is the second valued brand. We have seen the brands under the individual dimensions in the previous sections. We can see that HP leads the other brands in every dimension. The strategies adopted so far has been satisfactory. Suggestions for further Improvement Improving Brand Awareness From the brand equity table, we can see that HP scores full against unaided recall aided recall.

Foreshadowing in A Good Man Is Hard To Find by Flannery O’Connor :: A Good Man Is Hard To Find Flannery O’Connor

In "A Good Man is Hard to Find," by Flannery O’Connor, one is struck by the unexpected violence at the end of the story. However, if one re-reads the story as second time, one will see definite signs of foreshadowing of the ending. In the course of this story, O’Connor uses strong imagery to foreshadow the people and the events in this story. There are three significant times she uses this technique. They are the description of the grandmother’s dress, the death of the family, and the conversation between the Misfit and the grandmother. The grandmother did not want to go to Florida; she ironically dresses in her Sunday best. She was dressed very nicely with, "A navy blue dress with a small white dot in the print. Her collars and cuffs were white organdy trimmed with lace and at her neckline she had pinned a purple spray of cloth violets containing a sachet." (11). A strong foreshadowing imagery can be seen in these lines. Knowing the ending of the story, the grandmother’s elaborate dress symbolizes a preparation for her coffin. When a person dies, they are usually dressed in their best outfit, just like the grandmother was dressed in what seemed to be in her Sunday best. A stronger foreshadowing is when O’Connor states the reason for the grandmother’s beautiful dress, "In case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady." (11). She herself predicts her own death. Unfortunately, she does not know this yet. Not only does O’Connor foreshadow the grandmother’s death, she foreshadows the deaths of the rest of the family. The foreshadowing of the family’s death is very evident when they "passed by a cotton field with five or six graves fenced in the middle of it, like a small island." (12). It is not an accident that the numbers of graves "five or six" matches the exact number of people in the car. There are 5 people and a baby. Since a baby in not exactly a full person, it is appropriate to say "five or six." This foreshadowing image leads into the next one: "Look at the grave!" the grandmother said, pointing it out. "That was the old family burying ground. That belonged to the plantation." "Where’s the plantation? John Wesley asked. "Gone With the Wind," said grandmother." "Ha. Ha." (12).

Importance of Worldviews Essay -- Cosgrove, Reality

Cosgrove describes a worldview as â€Å"a set of assumptions or beliefs about reality that affect how we think and how we live† (p. 19). A person’s worldview has been molded from the day they were born by family, friends, media, and even strangers. Worldviews are important because they allow us to â€Å"develop a deep comprehensive faith that will stand against the unrelenting tide of our culture’s non-biblical ideas† (Tackett). Our actions also tend to mimic our beliefs—for example, if you believe that there is life after death like Christians do, your priorities should reflect your dedication to follow Christ and not be of this world (John 15:19 NLT). As I have learned more and more about worldviews in this class, particularly a Christian worldview, I have the opportunity to look back on what my worldview was and how it has changed. Because I have grown up in a church, and been a Christian for as long as I can remember, I have always thought of myself having a Christian worldview. However, after this course, I have realized that I did not know some of the basic Christian foundations—I did know that God is the creator of all things and that he is and everything he did is love. In the church I learned God is loving, all-powerful, all-knowing, eternal, unchanging, holy, and all good things, which are similar to the characteristics Dr. Strobel talked about in class. My picture of God has not changed much, if anything I have become more in awe, especially in regards to the trinity. My idea of what a person is, something that was made in God’s own image but sinned, and what happens to humans when they die, the body will stay but the soul will spend eternity in heaven or hell, has also not changed much (Zukeran). After learning from Dr. Strobel... ...MI: Kregel Publications. Davis, K., & Clark, B. (2011). Kisses from katie: A story of relentless love and redemption. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster. Strobel, K. (2013), Classroom Lectures, State University, Phoenix, Az. Strobel, L. (2000). The case for faith: A journalist investigates the toughest objections to Christianity. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House. Tackett, D. (n.d.). Why is a Christian worldview important?. Retrieved from http://www.focusonthefamily.com/faith/christian_worldview/why_is_a_christian_worldview_important.aspx Wilkens, S; Sanford, M. (2009). Hidden Worldviews: Eight Cultural Stories That Shape Our Lives. Downers Grove, IL, InterVarsity Press. Zukeran, P. (n.d.). what happens after death? a Christian perspective. Retrieved from http://www.probe.org/site/c.fdKEIMNsEoG/b.4224733/k.63A1/What_Happens_After_Death.htm Importance of Worldviews Essay -- Cosgrove, Reality Cosgrove describes a worldview as â€Å"a set of assumptions or beliefs about reality that affect how we think and how we live† (p. 19). A person’s worldview has been molded from the day they were born by family, friends, media, and even strangers. Worldviews are important because they allow us to â€Å"develop a deep comprehensive faith that will stand against the unrelenting tide of our culture’s non-biblical ideas† (Tackett). Our actions also tend to mimic our beliefs—for example, if you believe that there is life after death like Christians do, your priorities should reflect your dedication to follow Christ and not be of this world (John 15:19 NLT). As I have learned more and more about worldviews in this class, particularly a Christian worldview, I have the opportunity to look back on what my worldview was and how it has changed. Because I have grown up in a church, and been a Christian for as long as I can remember, I have always thought of myself having a Christian worldview. However, after this course, I have realized that I did not know some of the basic Christian foundations—I did know that God is the creator of all things and that he is and everything he did is love. In the church I learned God is loving, all-powerful, all-knowing, eternal, unchanging, holy, and all good things, which are similar to the characteristics Dr. Strobel talked about in class. My picture of God has not changed much, if anything I have become more in awe, especially in regards to the trinity. My idea of what a person is, something that was made in God’s own image but sinned, and what happens to humans when they die, the body will stay but the soul will spend eternity in heaven or hell, has also not changed much (Zukeran). After learning from Dr. Strobel... ...MI: Kregel Publications. Davis, K., & Clark, B. (2011). Kisses from katie: A story of relentless love and redemption. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster. Strobel, K. (2013), Classroom Lectures, State University, Phoenix, Az. Strobel, L. (2000). The case for faith: A journalist investigates the toughest objections to Christianity. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House. Tackett, D. (n.d.). Why is a Christian worldview important?. Retrieved from http://www.focusonthefamily.com/faith/christian_worldview/why_is_a_christian_worldview_important.aspx Wilkens, S; Sanford, M. (2009). Hidden Worldviews: Eight Cultural Stories That Shape Our Lives. Downers Grove, IL, InterVarsity Press. Zukeran, P. (n.d.). what happens after death? a Christian perspective. Retrieved from http://www.probe.org/site/c.fdKEIMNsEoG/b.4224733/k.63A1/What_Happens_After_Death.htm

Titration Research Paper

Quantitative Chemistry –Titration Determination of the Molarity of an Unknown Solution through Acid-Base Titration Technique 1. Introduction 1. 1 Aim The aim of this investigation was to determine the precise molarity of two (NaOH(aq)) sodium hydroxide solutions produced at the beginning of the experiment through the acid-base titration technique. 1. 2 Theoretical Background Titration is a method commonly used in laboratory investigations to carry out chemical analysis. The most frequent chemical analysis performed through titration is when determining the exact concentration of a solution of unknown molarity.This technique is usually used in redox and acid-base reactions. Redox reaction is when reduction – lost of oxygen – of one of the substances present in a reaction occurs and subsequently oxidation – gain of oxygen – of the second substance in the same reaction takes place. On the other hand, acid-base reaction is when a solution of known molar ity2 and volume present in a conical flask is titrated against a solution of unknown molarity in a burette until neutralization is reached. As I have shown in eq. 1, in this investigation it was an acid reacting with a base, hence, an acid-base titration. q. 1 – Hydrochloric Acid + Sodium hydroxide Sodium Chloride + water HCl(aq) + NaOH(aq) NaCl(aq) + H2O(l) In this investigation the latter reaction was carried out, having hydrochloric acid (HCl(aq)) as the analyte in the conical flask and sodium hydroxide (NaOH(aq)) as the titrant in the burette. The analyte was also designated as the standard solution of the experiment, since it has known values of volume and concentration, the figures that allowed the molarity of the titrant to be calculated.In an acid-base titration, the titrant in the burette is gradually added to the analyte in the conical flask until neutralisation happens, thus, the reaction reaches completion. When neutralisation happens the substances present at the end point are stoichiometrically equivalent, in other words, the value of moles of NaOH(aq) present at the end of the reaction is equivalent to the value of moles of HCl(aq) in the same solution as shown on eq. 2 below. eq. 2 – HCl(aq) + NaOH(aq) NaCl(aq) + H2O(l) 1 : 1The end point of a titration reaction can be obtained through two major methods. Firstly is by using a pH meter which works by introducing electrodes to the flask containing the standard solution. Once in the conical flask, these electrodes would measure the H+ ions present in the conical flask since they change as the titrant in added, until neutralisation happens, as a result, determining the pH of the solution. Knowing that neutralization happens when the pH of the solution is equal to 7, consequently, at the end point the pH meter will read 7.The second method would be using a colour indicator this could be paper or in liquid form. In an acid-base titration it would be convenient to use an indicator in liq uid. For instance, phenolphthalein is a recurrent indicator in this type of reaction which is colourless in an acidic solution and turns pink when in a basic solution. This indicator works by adding a few drops into the conical flask containing the acidic analyte and titrate the basic titrant drop-wise until colour of the solution formed in the conical flask changes to pink.All things considered, the colour indicator was used in this experiment since it is the most accessible method to measure the end point of an acid-base titration. The purpose of this investigation was to determine the unknown molarity of NaOH(aq) from acid-base titration. The preparation of NaOH(aq) was done by the students performing this investigation. The students were allocated mass of NaOH(s) that was diluted in water and hence obtained the solution NaOH(aq), in this case the titrant. However, the analyte was not produced by the student but provided.Therefore, after the titration was performed as explained o n the previous paragraphs, the data needed to calculate the molarity of NaOH(aq) was obtained. 1. 3 Preliminary calculations 1. 3. 1 The first important value to be obtained from the investigation was the volume of NaOH(aq) used. This was done by the following equation: eq. 3 – for 1st solution produced Average volume volume of 2nd trial – volume of 1st trial2= V1 eq. 4 – for 2nd solution produced Average volume volume of 2nd trial – volume of 1st trial2= V2 1. 3. The next step when determining the molarity of NaOH(aq) was to calculate the moles of HCl(aq) by using the volume HCl(aq) provided on the lab scripts and the molarity obtained from the bottle of HCl(aq) used during the investigation. The eq. 5 and eq. 6 below was used to calculate: eq. 5 – moles1 = V1 (dm3) ? molarity (M) eq. 6 – moles2 = V2 (dm3) ? molarity (M) 1. 3. 3 The third important equation, for both solutions, worth noting are the number of moles of NaOH(aq) present in the reaction. This was obtained by using ratio of the moles of NaOH(aq) : HCl(aq) used during the investigation.This can be recalled by eq. 2 eq. 2 – HCl(aq) + NaOH(aq) NaCl(aq) + H2O(l) 1 : 1 1. 3. 4 Hence, moles of both solutions of NaOH(aq) will be the same as the number of moles of HCl(aq) since the mole ratio is 1:1. That is for every one mole of HCl(aq) reacted, one mole of NaOH(aq) would have reacted with to neutralise the acid. Hence, the following equation will be used: eq. 7 – moles of HCl(aq)= NaOH(aq) 1. 3. 5 Lastly, the equation of the molarity of NaOH(aq): eq. 8 – Molarity for solution 1 =moles1volume1 q. 9 – Molarity for solution 1 =moles1volume1 2. Investigation 2. 1 Apparatus Due to the nature of the investigation very technical and precise laboratory apparatus were used to ensure best accuracy in results. For instance, in order to measure the acid, a pipette of exactly 20ml was used. This was very useful since it helped in diminishing the c hance of measuring either more or less of acid needed for the investigation. Similarly, the burette used to titrate the NaOH(aq) had 50 ml of volume this allowed enough volume of NaOH(aq) to be titrated, since the exact volume to neutralise the acid was unknown.Another precise apparatus was the magnetic stirrer. Being magnetic and electric it allowed the solution in the flask to be mixed continuously and vigorously and hence allow the exact volume of acid to be obtained. The other apparatus that were also used in this experiment were the solutions – titrant and analyte – themselves. The sodium hydroxide was given in pellets whereas the hydrochloric acid was provided in liquid form with the molarity of 1M. Moreover, volumetric flasks of volume of 100ml were also provided. This were used to produce the NaOH(aq) solutions, hence the reason for allowing 100ml of NaOH(aq) to be produced.In its turn, conical flasks of 250 ml of volume were also provided. As mentioned on the introductory paragraphs, the analyte is deposited in the conical flask. In this case, a volume of 250 ml was allowed to host the acid and the titrated base giving enough space for the solution to be formed. Lastly, phenolphthalein indicator was provided together with it a pair of gloves to avoid accidental stain on students’ hands. The apparatus setting is shown below in fig. 1. fig. 1 – diagram of apparatus used in the investigation 2. 2 Safety In terms of safety, the investigation involved very strong solutions.For instance, the sodium hydroxide pellets, although they were in solid form, after dissolving in water it could cause severe burns if put in direct contact with skin or eyes. Hence, as a pre-cautionary measure some gloves as well as goggles were provided to students. It was important to point out that if in case of accident in eyes, swallow or skin contact it should be rinsed vigorously in abundant water and seek medical attention. As for the hydrochloric aci d, it was a very acidic solution that if swallowed it would be very harmful.Similarly to sodium hydroxide it could cause severe burns if in contact with eyes or skin. For prevention of any accident, lab coats, goggles and gloves were provided. However, in case of accident, medical advice had to be immediately provided to student. 2. 3 Procedure This experiment, it involved two different solutions of NaOH(aq), for this reason, it was allowed to students to work in pairs in order to save time, since only 3 hours were allowed to perform investigation. The first part of the investigation was to prepare two NaOH(aq) solutions. Hence, each student was allocated a mass of NaOH(s) to measure.In this investigation performed, 2g and 5g of NaOH(s) pellets were meant to be weight using a 2 decimal place weight balance. However, since relatively large pellets were provided and not powder, it made not possible to measure the exact mass intended, instead, 2. 07g and 5. 19g were weighed. After weig hting the masses of NaOH(s), the pellets weighting 2. 07g and 5. 19g each mass was put in a separate 250ml volumetric flask, water was added to the flask and then shook in order to let the pellets dissolve to for a solution A and solution B of NaOH(aq) respectively. Secondly, the apparatus shown in fig. was as shown in the figure. Thirdly, 20ml of HCl(aq) was measured as accurate as possible by using a pipette if 20 ml of volume. This HCl(aq) measured was put in a 250ml conical flask. After preparing the acid, in this case, the analyte, 7 drops of phenolphthalein indicator was added to the conical flask where the analyte was added. The conical flask was places on the magnetic stirrer as shown in fig. 1. The forth part of the investigation was when a 50ml burette was filled with solution A. Following this, the magnetic stirrer was switched on, stirring the solution present in the conical flask moderately.Hence, using the tap present on the burette, the solution A was added to the con ical flasks in a drop-wise fashion until one drop was added to turn the solution pink permanently. When the solution in the conical flask turned permanently pink, the end point of the titration had been reached, thus, the volume of solution A used from the burette was recorded. Then, the conical flask was rinsed in abundant water. The sixth part of the experiment was to repeat third to fifth part of the experiment to obtain a second reading of the volume used to titrate solution A.After the sixth part was finalised, second part to sixth part of the procedure was repeated, however, this time solution B was used in the place of solution A. By the end of the experiment, two values of volume of solution A and two values of volume of solution B titrated against the acid were obtained and recorded in table 1. 3. Treatment of Raw Data 3. 1 Results table | Solution A| Solution B| Molarity of HCl(aq)| 1 moldm-3| 1 moldm-3| Volume of HCl(aq)| 20 ml| 20 ml| | Indicator used| phenolphtlalein| | Volume of NaOH(aq) | Trial I| 41. 1 ml| 16. 8 ml| Trial II| 38. 4 ml| 17. 1 ml| Average volume of NaOH(aq) used| 39. 8 ml| 17. 0 ml| | Observations| *Calculations*Average mass of NaOH(aq) used was calculated using the following formula: Trial I + Trial II2| * Not the mass expected was weighted – mass for solution A -0. 1g difference; mass for solution B +0. 7g difference. * Bubbles given out when dissolving the NaOH(s) * Volumetric felt warm when mixing the NaOH(s) with water * Some residous seen in the acid * Conical flask was rinsed with tap water * Some acid was spilled on the table, i. e. not all 20 ml was put in the conical flask| . Treatment of Results 4. 1 Processing raw data 4. 1. 1 – Balanced equation The balanced equation of the reaction taken place in this investigation was reviwed in the introductory paragraphs, eq. 2 below: eq. 2 – HCl(aq) + NaOH(aq) NaCl(aq) + H2O(l) mole ratio: 1 : 1 eq. 2 show that one mole of hydrochloric acid reacts with exact ly 1 mole of sodium hydroxide to form salt – sodium chloride and water, hence, the mole ratio between the substances is 1:1. 4. 1. – moles of HCl(aq) for solution A Again, the formula used to calculate the moles of hydrochloric acid for solution A has been reviewed in the beginning of the investigative report. Therefore, in order to find the moles of HCl(aq) eq. 5 was used: eq. 5 – moles1 = V1 (dm3) ? molarity (M) 0. 020 dm3 ? 1 moldm-3 = 0. 020 mol moles1 = ? V1 (dm3) = 20. 0 ml 20. 0ml 1000 = 0. 020 dm3 molarity (M) = 1 moldm-3 4. 1. 3 – moles of HCl(aq) for solution B the formula used to calculate the moles of hydrochloric acid for solution B was the same as the formula calculated for solution A.Therefore, in order to find the moles of HCl(aq) eq. 6 was used: eq. 6 – moles2 = V2 (dm3) ? molarity (M) 0. 020 dm3 ? 1 moldm-3 = 0. 020 mol moles2 = ? V2 (dm3) = 0. 020 ml 20. 0ml 1000 = 0. 020 dm3 molarity (M) = 1 moldm-3 4. 1. 4 – moles of NaO H(aq) for solution A From the molar ratio between hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide it was seen that one mole of acid reacted completely with one mole of the base. This is shown on eq. 2 – HCl(aq) + NaOH(aq) NaCl(aq) + H2O(l) mole ratio: 1 : 1 nd hence, eq. 7 moles of HCl(aq)= NaOH(aq) it is just to say that the number of moles of NaOH(aq) produced in this reaction was 0. 020 mol the same as the number of moles of HCl(aq). 4. 1. 5 – moles of NaOH(aq) for solution B Again in the solution B, the molar ratio between hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide is the same as the above solution. Hence: eq. 2 – HCl(aq) + NaOH(aq) NaCl(aq) + H2O(l) mole ratio: 1 : 1 and thus and hence, eq. 7 moles of HCl(aq)= NaOH(aq) t is just to say that the number of moles of NaOH(aq) produced in this reaction was 0. 020 mol the same as the number of moles of HCl(aq). 4. 1. 6 – molarity of NaOH(aq) for solution A The molarity of NaOH(aq) from solution A was calculated using e q. 8 reviewed at the introductory paragraph of this investigative report. Hence: eq. 8 – Molarity for solution A = moles1volume1 0. 020 mol0. 0398 dm3 = 0. 5 moldm-3 moles1 = 0. 020 mol volume1 = 39. 8ml 39. 8ml 1000 = 0. 0398 dm3 4. 1. 7 – molarity of NaOH(aq) for solution B The molarity of NaOH(aq) from solution B was calculated using eq. also reviewed at the introductory paragraph of this investigative report. Hence: eq. 9 – Molarity for solution B = moles1volume1 0. 020 mol0. 0170 dm3 = 1. 17 moldm-3 moles1 = 0. 020 mol volume1 = 17. 0ml 17. 0ml 1000 = 0. 0170 dm3 5. Discussion of Results The results obtained from the calculations carried out in this investigative report were somehow near the actual value expected to get. For instance, the molarity of solution A was 0. 5 moldm-3 and the assigned molarity was also 0. 5 moldm-3. However, for the molarity of solution B, the value was a slightly offset, the actual value assigned was 1. moldm-3 and from the above calculation the molarity of the solution was 1. 17 moldm-3. Analysing the data from table. 1 it is possible that the difference on the molarity of solution B is due to many errors that occurred during the experiment. The main source of error in this experiment was human error. For instance, when the volume for solution B was being poured into the conical flask, some of the content was spilled on the desk. This means that not all volume of acid was reacted with the base, as intended to be at the beginning of the experiment.This type of error mentioned on the above paragraph can be minimized have having more practice with using pipette. Another way is by utilizing sophisticated pipettes that will not let the content out unless the person utilizing chooses to do so by pressing a button. 6. Conclusion In this experiment, the unknown molarities of two solution of sodium hydroxide were to be investigating. The aim was to produce two solutions of NaOH(aq) and titrate them against an acid. The production of NaOH(aq) was successful which gave the opportunity to titrate against the acid.However the molarities calculated were very similar to the molarities intended. This suggests that the investigation was successful, although it was not fully successful due to errors that occurred during the investigation. Nevertheless, the results can be used as the actual molarity of the solution taken into account that the initial masses were not as well as the masses intended to be weight. 7. References * Jones, L; Atkins, P. (2000). Chemistry’s accounting: Reaction Stoichiometry. Chemistry: Molecules, Matter and Change. 4th ed. New York: W. H. Freeman and Company. p160-162 * Clark, J. (2000).Basic Calculations Involving solutions. Calculations in AS/A Level Chemistry. Pearson Education Limited. p61 – 66 * LoveToKnow. (1996-2011). Titration – Definiton of Titration. Available: http://www. yourdictionary. com/titration. Last accessed 14th Nov 2011. * ChemBuddy. (2005). Concentration lectures – definition. Available  : http://www. chembuddy. com/? left=concentration&right=concentration. Last accessed 15th Nov 2011. * Harold, C. (2011-2012). Experiment 2  : Acid-Base Titration. CHE-00027/29 General and Organic Chemistry Laboratory Handbook. Keele University. p17-20 ——————————————– 1 ]. Concentration – number of molecules present in a specific volume of a solution [ 2 ]. Molarity – concentration of a solute per mole; also known as molar concentration [ 3 ]. Analyte – the solution with known values of its volume and concentration [ 4 ]. Titrant – the solution with unknown values of volume and concentration [ 5 ]. End point – the stage at which enough titrant has been added to neutralise the analyte [ 6 ]. pH meter – a laboratory electronic equipment used to measure the pH of a solution [ 7 ]. pH – the negative logarithm value of H+ present in a solution, determining the acidity of the solution