Thursday, October 31, 2019

How does the specific geographical location of this particular country Essay

How does the specific geographical location of this particular country influence and inform its foreign policy aims and objectiv - Essay Example Curling away from the mainland China to neighboring Japan, Korea has been the area across which invading armies have coursed back and forth. At the same time, the invasions did not prevent Korea from retaining a high degree of homogeneity in ethnic sense. This â€Å"Koreanness†, as Feffer calls it, makes the division in two states painful for citizens in either part (Feffer, 2011: 22). For South Korea, its geographic location close to North Korea is the major factor that shapes its foreign policy. At the same time, surrounded by water, this country is located around 200 kilometers from two Japanese islands of Kyushu and Honshu. Closeness to Japan and China has its own impact on the foreign policy of South Korea. As for the geographical identity of South Korea, it is conditioned by South Korea’s location on one half of the Korean Peninsula, the one that is southern and has a land border with the only state - North Korea. This paper investigates how geography of South Kor ea shapes and informs its foreign policy aims and impacts its geographical identity. First, let us explore the geographical location of Republic of South Korea in detail. While South Korea hosts more than 45 million people, its size is slightly bigger than that of Indiana in the United States and is similar to the size of Hungary (about 93.000 square kilometers) and Jordan (around 97.700) (AsiaInfo, 2013: no page). Its territory is 99.391 square kilometers (Davis, 1999: 7). This accounts for 45% of the overall territory of the peninsula. The capital is Seoul. The land of the country covers the southern part of the Korean Peninsula; it is surrounded by water on its three sides. The Korean Peninsula stretches to the South from the east coast of Asia. Its second half is occupied by North Korea. The territory of South Korea encompasses nearly 3.000 islands which are located predominantly around the sea known as the Yellow Sea. Few islands lie of the East Sea. The largest and most import ant islands in South Korea are: Ullungdo (in the East Sea, serves a key fishery base), Tokdo (hosts a major fishery base, too), and Chejudo (the biggest island in size, is located off the southwest corner of the Korean Peninsula). Historically, the two countries on the Korean Peninsula used to be a single country under the name Korea. Yet, for political reasons, Korea got divided and became two countries. Specifically, with the end of World War 2, the overall territory got divided in two zones: the northern one got occupied by the military forces of the USSR; the southern part, in its turn, got occupied by the American army. The boundary between the two military zones was fixed at the 38th parallel. Back in 1953, the boundary was more or less fixed by the marked DMZ, which is 4-kilometer wide land strip running along the cease-fire lines from one coast to another (from the eastern part to the western part). That strip is around 241 kilometers east to west; it was fixed on a semi-per manent basis (AsianInfo, 2013: no page). The territory of South Korea is covered mostly with mountains and forests. Along its southern and western coasts, there stretch low and flat lands. South Korean climate is largely shaped by monsoons, which bring wet weather in summer season and dry weather in winter (Davis, 1999: 7).

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Critical Analysis Essay about economy Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Critical Analysis about economy - Essay Example According to the author, countries poorly ranked on the Index of Economic Freedom risk high unemployment, deteriorating social conditions and economic stagnation. Miller attributes this poor performance by America to the Obama administration’s economic restraining regulations on critical sectors such as energy, finance and healthcare which impede not only personal freedom but also national prosperity. While America lags behind, other countries are fast striving to achieve economic freedom as it promotes economic growth, social progress and long term prosperity. This has seen 114 nations adopt strategies in the past year geared towards this objective with 43 achieving the highest ranking of economic freedom in the history of the ranking. With the 2014 Index of Economic Freedom showing a global race towards enhancement of economic opportunities courtesy of greater freedom, the article finds no excuse for America’s exclusion from the same pursuit. Indeed, restraint on econ omic freedom would worsen America’s economic woes. Measurement of economic freedom relies on indicators such as business regulation, property rights security and fiscal soundness among others. They also include voluntary exchange, personal choice, protection of property and persons and competition freedom. According to Gwartney and Lawson, economic freedom promotes the choice of individuals on the type and process of production of goods and services (406). However, such rights of these individuals do not extend to others but only govern their choices. Institutions and policies also would be consistent with this freedom, allowing for voluntary exchange and protections of people and their property as argued by Miller. Therefore, the government would promote economic freedom by providing legal structures protect property rights of owners. Indeed, economic freedom has been noted as a critical factor for economic growth. Just as Miller argues that economic freedom enables

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Laser ablation technique

Laser ablation technique First laser ablation technique was invented in 1960. The history of laser ablation studies begins with the birth of the laser itself. Laser ablation is a technique of removing of material from superficial solid with the help of laser beam. The number of studies grows simultaneously in seventies and they got a great success but it was explored in the year 1985 with many applications for example laser medication, laser with mass spectrometry, laser with optical emission spectrometry and a thin film growth. Laser ablation-optical emission spectrometry (LA-OES) and laser ablation-mass spectrometry (LA-MS) had been investigated for quantitative and qualitative analysis of solid material. After this invention scientist has taken 20 years to explore the combination of laser sampling with a specific source capable of multi-element analysis laser ablation inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry.3LA-ICP-OES/MS technique is a non-destructive quantification of large number of sam ples so elements with low detection limit. Applications of LA-ICP-OES/MS give a great contribution in many field like archaeological, geological, environmental, forensic investigation and semiconductor industrial fields. The primary goal of laser ablation technique is to quantify element.2 There are many different pulse laser uses in ablation process. First laser which is used to ablate solid material for chemical quantify is ruby. This was achieved by Maiman of the Hughes Research Laboratory using a ruby crystal as the active medium.1 Now days Nd:YAG laser have been widely used in analytical science because it require little maintenance, easy to handle, and relatively cheaper. Basically ablation is affected by laser wavelength; there is a simple principal behind this technique, shorter the laser wavelengths gives higher the ablation rate and lower the fractionation. For Nd:YAGlasers,the fundamental wavelength is in the near-IR at 1064 nm. Year of first report on the different laser types and wavelengths for micro-scale analysis with ICP-MS3 Year Laser Wavelength Pulse duration 1985 Ruby 694 Ns 1992 Nd:YAG 1064 Ns 1993 Nd:YAG 266 Ns 1995 ArF 193 Ns 1996 KrF 248 Ns 1997 Nd:YAG 532 Ns 1997 XeCl 308 Ns 1998 Nd:YAG 213 Ns 2002 Ti:Sapphire ≈800 Fs 2003 F2 157 Ns 2003 Nd:YAG 193 Ns 2003 Ti:Sapphire ≈260 Fs In past there were many techniques tried for the sample introduction such as spark ablation, electro thermal vaporisation, direct sample insertion and laser ablation began to be used with ICP-MS. Laser pulses is use for ablate of solid material and carriage of the released material to the ICP in a gas flow, mostly argon is a best alternative to the nebulisation of aqueous sample solution. In addition laser ablation has a great advantage over other technique like reduce sample preparation; reduce spectral interference and rapid sample exchange.4 if we talk about the evolution of LA-ICP-MS in last few years many scientists work on a different field like geological applications of LA-ICP-MS, biological applications, metal, polymer, glass applications and they got a huge success. As we know that ruby was a first laser to ablate solid for introduction to ICP-MS. The main feature of ruby laser is ruby, flash tube, and elliptical reflector and trigger wire. Generally, crystal surface of one end is highly polished and silvered and the other end is partially polished. Ruby consists of aluminium oxide, Al2O3, to which has been added a small proportion (about 0.05% by mass) of Cr2O3. The ruby laser is totally based on the energy level principle. When chromium ion is excited from the ground level, this process is known as optical pumping. This is produced by an intense flash of white light from the flash tube and transition may occur. Spontaneous transitions produce photons, which trigger further emission. Photon travel perpendicular to the one end of the rod accumulates and release form the other end of the ruby rod which is partially silver polished. REMAINING Nd:YAG is widely uses in advance analytical practicals. Basically its work on different energy levels like ground level, meta stable level and pumping levels. In this system lasing occurs between the metastable levels. As the terminal level is essentially empty at room temperature, the population of E1 can be increased by a relatively small pump power above that of the E3 level. This is a significant advantage over the ruby system4. There is few influence of physical and chemical property of sample occurs because of aerosol particles generated by nanosecond laser ablation at 213 nm. The main problem of LA-ICP-MS is calibration strategy for a specific quantitative analysis. Different material have different matrix and when laser is introduce for ablation it may produce matrix â€Å"effect†. Matrix effect cause changes in volume and composition of the generated particles during thelaserbeam interaction with the different sample surfaces. To solve this problem we need to calibrat e the matrix match5. Principal of laser ablation A typical laser ablation system consists of laser, ablation process and detection system. Usually in this type of practical we use pulsed lasers. Argon or other inert gases typically carry the ablated sample into the ICP. Thermal and non- Thermal mechanism is involved in the ablation process but its depending on the wavelength of the laser. Test sample absorbed the laser light (thermal process) and transfer this energy into atomic lattice. Then outer layer of the sample breakdown and melting and vaporisation process may occur. Different chemical required different latent heat of vaporisation, researchers says that if the level of photon energy is more than the bounding energy between two atoms in a solid sample. The electromagnetic laser radiation breaks the atomic lattices and ejects ion and atoms without producing any heat.8 The following are the basic principle of laser ablation.6 Solid sample of a specific size is set up in a special design laser ablation chamber. Optical lens can be used for the investigation of solid specimen surface and select region to be analysed. The parallel radiation of solid state laser, gas laser or excimer laser with specific energy and time duration. Then introduce laser light directly onto the small region of sample with the help of optical lens. Ablated sample material range from nanogram to milligram produced by one or more laser shots consist of vaporised ions, small solid particles, solidified liquid droplets, free atoms and few clusters. If the vapours contain significant population of excited or ionized atoms, direct LA-AES and LA-MS for element analysis is possible. We can introduce ablated material in ICP as an aerosol by the flow of carrier gas; generally we use argon gas as a carrier. In second step ablated material is completely atomized, excited and ionised. The radiation of the atomic emission or the masses of isotopes species can be recorded with the help of different kind of detectors in spectrometers of LA-ICP-MS and LA-ICP-OES6. Principal of laser action remain.diagram An ideal solid sampling method should include the following features.6 Handle small and large sample size. Accurate measurement. Simple operation. Reproducible sampling. Simultaneous multi element analysis. Applicable to wide range of sample composition. Wide dynamic range. Variability from micro analysis to macro analysis. Acceptable cost of instrument and maintenance. Suitable method for quantification. Ablation stage.2 As we know the main feature of laser ablation lens, ablation chamber, and adjustable platform. Lens is fixed into optical microscope so that optical and visual focusing coincides and sample surface can be seen by CCD camera. Analytical sample is placed in a chamber which is made up of fused silica window. The adjustable chamber directly connected with computer and controls the position of sample in x, y, z directions. Few micron of displacement is achieved by this technique without any hindrance. Depending on the timing between individual laser pulses and platform movement, different tasks such as depth profiling, spatial profiling, surface and bulk analyzes are possible. If we applies laser ablation with inductive couple plasma, it require inert gas to transport the ablate sample to ICP. Argon and helium is widely use as a carrier gas. These gases provide better transportation and ablation rate. To improve transport efficiency, the sample or chamber is placed directly under the ICP torch. Detection system.2 ICP-MS Quadrupole mass analysers are used in inductive couple plasma mass spectrometry. However, time of flight, double focusing electro static- magnetic sector, multiple faraday Analogue detector instruments, ion trap mass analyser have been used with ICP-MS. Quadrupole mass analyser has a ability to scan between two different masses. We can measure 1000 masses in only one second. There is one disadvantage of using quadrupole mass analysers, if ablated vapour contains large particles so, it may produce some spatial changes such as enhancements or depressions in the signal level and chemistry. Double focusing electrostatic-magnetic sector instruments produce high resolution and very low background levels. For isotopes ratio applications usually we can use multiple faraday analogue detectors because its give a very high precision and time of flight instruments are better suited for laser ablation sampling ICP-MS. This system is able to remove the specific errors due to large particles in ICP.2 Ablation cells ref 3 Direct solid micro-analysis using Laser ablation Inductive couple plasma mass spectrometry has been used in many applications such as forensic, art, geo-sciences, material science, bio- science and cultural heritage. During the LA-ICP-MS measurement ablation cell plays an important role because it allows a quantitative transport aerosol and lead to a rapid transport from the ablation site to the ICP source. The guiding criteria were maximization of both aerosol extraction efficiency and transport speed. Usually there are two type of ablation cell is use in ablation system, open cell and a closed cell. The first open cell was invented in the year 1970 for flame atomic absorption spectrometry or microwave discharges. The cell size was a compromise between signal dispersion and minimization of aerosol spattering on the walls (so-called wall reaction), which is enhanced in reduced size cells. Dittrich and Wennrich first introduced fully enclosed ablation cell chamber. This system has many advantages like no sample preparation is required for ablation such as surface polishing, and at atmospheric pressure that permitted the direct analysis of pressed pellets, clearly unstable under vacuum conditions.ref 3 Sample prepration Calibration strategy There is no universal method of calibration for all of solid-sample types. There are three general groups of calibration strategies Calibration can then be achieved by comparing the response for the internal standard element in a reference material and the unknown.ref 5 Matrix-matched direct solid ablation ref 1 Matrix match is very popular technique for LA-ICP-MS. Matrix matching is necessary because the ablation rate varies with the sample matrix. Matrix matched standard consist of mixture of an appropriate matrix material with the analyte. Dual introduction (sample-standard) This method does not require the reference standards to be introduced by laser ablation.In this technique we use two sample introduction channels. One channel is for ablated material and another for nebulizer aqueous solution standards. Usually this method is used for semi-quantitative analysis with LA-ICP-MS. Direct liquid ablation Gunther et al. First demonstrate direct liquid ablation technique for LA- ICP-MS. Na (all elements) and Yb (rare earth elements only) were used as internal standards. To explain the similar ablation behaviour of liquids and solids, particle size distributions were measured and the contribution to the total ablation volume was calculated.ref 1 Sample introduction for LA-ICP-OES/MS ref 4 In many fields like clinical analysis, forensic, and biological the volume of sample available can be lower than 1 millilitre. The low sample consumption systems improve the analyte transport efficiencies afforded by conventional setups, some time solvent system may cause may type of interferences. It can be reduced by working at very low very low liquid flow rates. It can be observed that, in some cases, the sample volume is below 100ÃŽ ¼l. Usually, when liquid sample is analyse with the help of inductive couple plasma mass spectrometry or optical emission spectrometry. Nebulizers is use to transform liquid solution into an aerosol. A typically nebulizer deliver the solution with a specific rate on the order of 0.5-2ml/min. There are many different type of nebulizer is available such as, micro nebulizer, high efficiency nebulizer, micro concentric nebulizer, micro mist nebulizer, sonic spray nebulizer etc. Basic reason to use a nebulizer is to generate aerosol. Micro nebulizer is ve ry popular used in ICP-OES/MS. A micro nebulizer is used to generate stable aerosols at liquid flow rates below 100-200ÃŽ ¼l/min. Aerosol generation. Micro nebulizer provides finer aerosols, higher ICP sensitivities and lower limits of detection low liquid flow rates. A typical concentric nebulizer has lower capillary inner diameters and wall thickness than conventional ones. For conventional pneumatic nebulizers, the dimensions of liquid capillaries or the wall thickness and inner diameter are not appropriate for the generation of fine aerosols at low flow rates. It has been claimed that it is difficult to generate stable aerosols with conventional nebulizers at liquid flow rates below 300ÃŽ ¼l/min. In transport of liquid, if the flow rate is below then 100ÃŽ ¼l/min. So, solvent evaporation is enhanced and, on the other hand, droplet coalescence is dampened in the former situation. Solvent evaporation and aerosol characteristics at low liquid flow rate can be evaluated by this equation: D3 = d30 Et Where d is the drop diameter at a given time t, d0 is the initial drop diameter and E is the so-called evaporation factor. There are many different devices used for the introduction of liquid micro samples in ICP techniques. It can be classified into three different groups. A nebulizer coupled to a spray chamber; A nebulizer coupled to a desolvation system; A direct injection nebulizer. Micro nebulizers coupled to spray chambers: Usually in the analysis of micro samples, pneumatic concentric micro nebulizers are widely used with ICP-MS as well as ICP-OES/AES. High efficiency nebulizer {HEN}: First high efficiency nebulizer was invented in the year 1992. HEN is totally made up of glass. Its design is similar to a Meinhard ® but the critical dimension is less than the other one. It has many advantages like because of the reduced inner diameter of the capillary, even clean aqueous solutions must be filtered to avoid tip blockage caused by the presence of fibres or small particles. And due to the low cross section area of the gas exit, pressure of the gas is rather high. Micro concentric nebulizer (MCN) The micro concentric nebulizer can be easily introduced with double pass or cyclonic spray chambers by means of special end caps. MCN consist of polyamide narrow capillary and a t-shaped plastic body. The cross section area of the gas exit is very less. This gives a huge drawback because the aerosol is generated at the exit of the nebulizer where the gas stream has lost a fraction of its kinetic energy. MCN can be considered as a rather fragile nebulizer. This type of nebulizer is very popular in the application of inductive couple mass spectrometry and optical emission spectrometry because it provides great sensitivities than conventional pneumatic nebulizers. Micro mist nebulizer (MMN): The MMN is a modified glass conventional concentric nebulizer. Micro mist nebulizer has an ability to recess the liquid capillary with respect to the nebulizer tip. This important feature allows to working with high salt content solutions without suffering from nebulizer tip blockage. PFA micro nebulizer (PFAN): The PFA (tetrafluoroethylene-per-fluoroalkyl vinyl ether copolymer) micro nebulizer is an HF resistant. Basically this nebulizer is used for the analysis of samples containing high concentrations of organic solvents and dissolved solids. The PFA nebulizer has been extensively used under free aspiration mode. Usually this nebulizer is used for the analysis for extremely diluted samples without contamination from pump tubing and, at the same time, reduces the signal noise. Multi micro spray nebulizer (MMSN): The Multi micro spray nebulizer (MMSN) enhances the interaction efficiency between the gas and liquid streams. This is a modified version of the SSN. In this system the sample solution is divided into 3 parts, each one of the three capillaries employed is centred with three respective gas exit orifices and it has three aerosol generation points like three micro nebulizers. Thats why is called as multi micro spray nebulizer. Figures of merit demerit of LA-ICP-OES and LA-ICP-MS ref 8 The figures of merit are depending on the operating condition, instrumentation and applications of laser ablation inductive couple plasma mass spectrometry. The best advantage of LA-ICP-MS is sensitivity, detection efficiency, direct sampling multi element quantification at the surface and bulk for elemental composition of solids, Reduced risks of analyte loss or cross-contaminations, Determination of spatial distribution of elemental compositions, Independent of sample geometry, No chemical procedures and Analysis of very small samples.ref 8 The disadvantage of this technique is very less. Some time the common matrix and molecular species can interact with the active analyte or some double charged molecular species create difficulty in quantification. Applications of ICP-OES/MS 1) Recent applications on isotope ratio measurements by LA-ICP-MS (ref 9) LA-ICP-MS is a powerful and sensitive technique for analysing stable and radioactive isotopes in different application fields because of their low good accuracy, detection limits and precision. ICP-MS can be use for isotope ratio measurements of Mg, Ca and K in plants, soils and nutrient solutions. Serious difficulties were encountered during the analysis of K and Ca isotope by ICP-MS. The problem is rise because of the interferences. 2) LA-ICP-MS on biological samples and single particles (ref 9) New trend focus on isotope dilution technique together with neon flow injections. Today, LA-ICP-MS is very popular method for determination of metals, for example on protein bands in gels after the gel electrophoresis of protein mixtures. In future LA-ICP-MS could be able to improve in the resolution of sub-micrometer range for isotope ratio measurements in biological and medical samples. 3) LA-ICP-MS for the elemental analysis of bone and teeth samples for discrimination purposes ( ref 10) Human bone and teeth is useful evidence when found in crime scenes because it consists of isotopic property. Usually LA-ICP-SF-MS method is applied for analysis of bone and teeth. In this method non-matrix calibration is required and its only required micro gram of sample for analysis. This is a fast and easy elemental analysis technique using LA-ICP-SF-MS for the intra-inter human discrimination of skeletal remains. 4) LA-ICP-MS for surface analysis (ref 6 ) LA-ICP-MS is also used for the determination of lateral element distribution has also been described for ceramic layers and for profiling of metal layers. With the help of this technique we can measure the size of Al2O3, MgO and complex CaO, MgO and Al2O3. 5) Environmental applications and Geological applications (ref 1) LA-ICP-MS has a excellent capacity to determined chemical content present in tree samples because of the high spatial resolution provided by a focused laser beam. The excellent sensitivity of LA-ICP-MS allows measurements of very low detection limit and multiple quantitative analyses. Geochronology is one of the basic principles in earth sciences. Age can be determined by measuring the 206Pb/238U, 207Pb/235U, and 207Pb/206Pb ratios. LA-ICP-MS has the ability to do spatially resolved in-situ determination of U_Pb isotopic compositions in zircons. 6) The emerging role of ICP-MS in proteomic analysis {ref 11} ICP-MS stands now as a new tool in the field of quantitative proteomics. The system to be analysed may be very small e.g. a single cell, with 0.5 pL volume and ca. 50 pg total protein content. The below diagram describe the emerging role of mass spectroscopy. Recent trends and developments in laser ablation-ICP-mass spectrometry Now, laser technology is not a new thing in any field. Laser is widely used in different programs such as for medical applications, for micro-machining, in CD-players, light shows and in analytical chemistry. As we know that laser is used for direct analysis of the elemental composition of solids, mostly solid state lasers, such as Nd:YAG laser with at 1064 nm wavelength is very popular in the determination of many things. But the trend moves towards the shorter wavelengths 1064 nm to 157 nm. In laser ablation set up we can use excimer lasers with different wavelength like XeCl 308 nm, KrF 248 nm, ArF 193 nm, and F2 157 nm. Laser ablation inductive couple plasma is one of the flexible and powerful technique in analytical field for isotope ratio measurement and direct determination of solids. A variety of calibration techniques have been developed and successfully applied to LA-ICP-MS. There is a great development with respect to calibration strategies. Intensively study is going on t he matrix-independent calibration procedures using external reference materials and/or internal standardization. Ref 12 Determination of boron in silicon wafers with the help of on-line isotope dilution laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) method. This is a new and successful method. In this technique ablated aerosol sample was mixed on-line with enriched boron and conventional nebulizer system is used for continuous supply. By the mixing of two different aerosols, isotope ratio of boron has been changed and it is recorded by ICP-MS system. In this system accurately quantifies boron concentrations in silicon wafers without the need for an internal or external solid reference standard material. On-line solution-based isotope dilution in laser ablation ICP-MS is an accurate, simple, precise and quantification procedure. Below the process diagram of on-line isotope dilution LA-ICP-MS There is a still study and research on the new calibration method combine with IDA and LA-ICP-MS without using standard reference materials. In future we will focus on the applicability of this on-line LA-ICP-IDMS quantification concept to the determination of trace analytes in various other matrices.ref 13 Refrence. (http://www.rsc.org/delivery/_ArticleLinking/DisplayArticleForFree.cfm?doi=a901765hJournalCode=JA Laser ablation in analytical chemistry—a review Science direct. Solid sample analysis using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry TrAC Trends in Analytical Chemistry Volume 24, Issue 3, March 2005, Pages 255-265Trace-metal analysis http://www.rsc.org/delivery/_ArticleLinking/DisplayArticleForFree.cfm?doi=b202988j Spectrochimica Acta Part B: Atomic Spectroscopy Volume 65, Issue 1, January 2010, Pages 51-60 Influence of physical properties and chemical composition of sample on formation of aerosol particles generated by nanosecondlaser ablationat 213nm First Laser ablation principle and application Google book. Laser in analytical atomic spectrometry google book. http://www.rsc.org/delivery/_ArticleLinking/DisplayArticleForFree.cfm?doi=a901765hJournalCode=JA Laser ablation in analytical chemistry—a review science direct

Friday, October 25, 2019

The Vietnam Wars Effects on American Society Essay -- Vietnam War Ess

The Vietnam War's Effects on American Society Abstract The Vietnam War had a profound effect on American society. It changed the way we viewed our government, the media, and our Constitutional rights. Because of this shift in perspective, the country was torn apart and yet still came together in new and different ways. The Vietnam War's contraversiality spurred a great many sources of protest, against our government's use of power, how far we could stretch the rights of free expression, and primarily against the violence of the war itself. These changes in the behavior of society have left a lasting mark on our perception and the demand to be informed since that influencial period of social turmoil. The Vietnam War's Effects on American Society  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Vietnam War had a profound effect on American society. It provided a contraversial issue that formed a catalyst for a social structure just ready to be provoked. When the American public became aware of the situation at hand, through the recently unchained media, it was only a matter of time before there was some form of action or reaction. The media played a key role in the empowerment of the sway of the people. With the addition of television journelism, a whole new depth was added to how people percieved what they were being told, because there was an added truth to seeing it. People rising and uniting in protest, and journelists bucking the government-imposed censorship began stretching the limits to how far we would take our rights to free expression. There were said to be three stages of the antiwar movements. "The first phase (1964-1965) was idealistic. The second phase (1966-1968) was more pragmatic, a period when young people characteristically protested not on principal but out of a desire not to be drafted and killed. The third phase (1969-1972) coincided with the de- Americanization of the war"(Jeffreys-Jones, 43). In phase one, people either supported the war or thought they had a clear path on how to stop it. At this point, the issue at hand appeared pretty black and white. As the years progressed, into the second phase, the protest became a little more frantic. The realization that the war was real became more apparent, people were being killed and that was that. This revealed several more shades of grey, bu... ... objectors.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://www.geocities.com/~104670/vietnam/authors/75AND4   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  602/index.html Heirser, J.M. (1974). Vietnam studies: Logistic support.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Washington D.C.: Department of the Army. Hershberger, M. (1998). Traveling to Vietnam: American peace   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  activists and the war. Syracuse, New York: Syracuse   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  University Press. Herring, G.C. (1994). LBJ and Vietnam: A different kind of   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  war. Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Vietnam 13 Jeffreys-Jones, R. (1999). Peace now! London: Yale   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  University Press. Katsiafica, G. (1984). Vietnam documents: American and   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Vietnamese views of the war. Armonk, New York: M.E.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sharpe. McCormick, A.L. (2000). The Vietnam antiwar movement.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Berkely Heights, New Jersey: Enslow Publishers, Inc. "People's Parkers neamed their real goals". (1969, June   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  8). San Franscisco Sunday Examiner and Chronicle. San   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Fransisco. p. 12. Schlight, J. (1986). Indochina war symposium. Washington DC:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  US Government Printing Office. Spector, R.H. (1984, April 7) "Researching the Vietnam   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Experience". Historical Analysis Series. p. 30-31.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

The standard of living is the measure of the material well being of the given population

The standard of living is the measure of the material well being of the given population. This would include things such as your properties, motors, incomes etc†¦. it covers anything that can be given a monetary values and excludes those that cannot e.g. happiness or luck. The standard of living is measured mainly by the GDP per capita and focuses on incomes this provides a general guide to the well -being – materialistically of the population in question. If the GDP were increasing this would suggest that the population is better off, there is more wealth within the economy, one may assume there is fuller employment and people are spending more as more is produced. If people are thought to be better off one assume this to signify that people are happier but this is not necessarily true but as this cannot be measured it has to be sidelined. Health is another important factor which is difficult to identify within monetary terms however there are different statistics which can be produced e.g. number of doctors per hospital etc†¦ when the standard f living is measure if comparing over time it will be adjusted for inflation and dealt with in real terms. There is the issue of the PPP adjustment, which must be taken to account when comparing internationally as goods and service cost more and less in other nations depending on their own resources, labour markets, and performance. In Helsinki the spending on heating is likely to be much higher than in Andalusia but this does not indicate a difference in the standard of living it is simply misguiding. National GDP figures hide significant regional variations in output, employment and incomes per head of population. Within each region there are also areas of relative prosperity contrasting with unemployment black-spots and deep-rooted social and economic deprivation. We need to analyse the balance between consumption and investment. If an economy devotes too many resources to satisfying the short run needs & wants of consumers, there may be insufficient resources for investment needed for long-term economic development. Faster economic growth might improve living standards today but lead to an over-exploitation of scarce finite economic resources thereby limiting future growth prospects. The principal problems with the GDP method are that it ignored the values of goods and services which are traded but left undeclared e.g. diy jobs and the black economy in some countries e.g. Italy the black economy is estimated to be near 35% and poses a great difficulty to governments trying to estimate the net income flow. It also fails to take into account the distribution of wealth e/g/ in Saudi Arabia the GDP is not particularly low but it is all concentrated among the hands of the wealthy sheiks and in parts there is extreme poverty because there is no ‘trickle effect' of the capital throughout the society as it is maintained. Furthermore it doesn't always take into account the improvements in technology for example 15 years ago a PC for $1000 will now be 10 times worse than one valued at $500 this is not because if increased living standard but change sin technology. Economic ‘bads' can increase the figure of the standard of living, even though the ‘quality of life' has decreased. For example traffic jams cause more petrol to be consumed but increase the income and output of a county. Also the environment can be damaged in this case, but one person may hold a higher value for the environment than another. These valuation problems apply to health and defense the output of these does not have a market price but the value is determined by the cost of producing them. The quality of life can also be over o under valued because say we take longer holidays output and income may fall but happiness will increase, similarly a crackdown on pollution by rise the prices of supply and therefore consumption but make our lives intrinsically more happy. Another method of measuring the living standard of an economy could be to examine the consumer durables. Thee can be anything from cars to washing machines to nice houses to computers. It is theorized that the more of these items you own the higher your standard of living would be. E.g. a man with 2 Bentleys and a Rolls Royce compared to a man with two skodas and a ford fiesta will be assumed to have higher standard of living. However sometimes it is difficult to compare some durables for instance TV's just because one is valued at more does it necessarily imply a better quality therefore even those who can afford it may not opt for the most costly. Also if I have seven flats in Norwich or one house in Kensington, which would make me, better off? Consumer durables also exclude savings and services, some people choose to accumulate their wealth as opposed to purchase consumer durables therefore it is not at all a clear indicator of the real standard of living. Compared to the GDP method it is extremely vague and inaccurate, the previous method is much more thorough and examines wealth in terms of cash and not goods for this latter method one needs to heavily account for consumer spending trends which can be extremely unpredictable. The third and final method is a non-monetary system of using the human development index. A measure of economic development The Human Development Report has been published by the United Nations each year since 1990. The report contains detailed statistical information on economic and social development indicators for virtually every country in the world. Among the hundreds of tables and charts we find the annual data on the Human Development Index and the Human Poverty Index. Both are simple measures of the extent to which living standards vary across countries. The HDI is constructed as an aggregate index of three components: education, income, and life expectancy at birth. The focus of the HDI is on the escape from poverty – defined as an HDI below 0.5. Here is a list of some of the social aspects that need to be considered o The number of patients per doctor – a measure of health provision in a country o Hospital waiting lists for important operations o The number of children per thousand of the population who die each year (infant mortality rates) o The average food intake per person (measured by average calorific intake) o The proportion of the population that can read or write – literacy rates o Average educational attainment at different age levels o Crime rates o Divorce rates These statistics should indicate what proportion of the population is enjoying a minimum standard of living although perceptions of what is needed for a basic quality of life vary. The figures could be misleading as in developing nations increases would imply better standards of living and more westernized countries would appear to be worse than they are. In conclusion I think the HDI is the best method to provide an overall picture of the economy and covers very many social aspects which are key to determining somebody's quality of life. The GDP method is the most reliable statistically and most through but the problems outlined are particularly heard to overcome in particular that of the black economy. The consumer durable methods is extremely inefficient ad indicates of nothing expect consumer spending patterns.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Obasan Essay

Megumi Naomi Nakane, an innocent Child Essay In Joy Kogawa’s Obasan, Naomi is an innocent child who suffers a great deal throughout the novel. The adults of the Nakane family go through a lot of trouble to protect Naomi’s innocence just so Naomi could have a childhood like any other child. However much the adults tried, Naomi still sees the dark side of the world at an early age. Naomi does not understand some things that take place in her life and therefore, she finds toys and stories as a vent to express her emotions.In this novel, Naomi’s innocence is crucial seeing that throughout the novel she is baffled and unsure about the incidents that occur in her life in addition to that she has to suffer for incidents she does not comprehend. To begin, the elders in Naomi’s family endure a lot of pain at the hands of the Canadian government to shield Naomi as best they can. Everybody in Naomi’s house is looking out for her. As Naomi narrates, â€Å"What ever [uncle] was intending to tell me ‘someday’ has not yet been told† which clarifies that uncle has been keeping something from her to shield her from all the wrongs in the world (Kogawa 3).Later on in the novel, it is read that similar to everyone in the family uncle has been concealing the fact that Naomi’s mother had been brutally injured from the bombing at Nagasaki and also that following the injuries Naomi’s mother had died after a while. Uncle believes that if he were to tell all the details about Naomi’s mother’s death, then Naomi would be heartbroken. This is because afterwards in the novel, it is discovered that Naomi and her mother had a very close mother and daughter relationship.Another similar incident is when Obasan remains silent while Naomi asks questions â€Å"‘Please tell me about mother’ [Naomi] would say as a child to Obasan†¦ but she gave [Naomi] no answer†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (26). This quotation dem onstrates that Obasan did not give Naomi any answers about her mother because Naomi would be grief-stricken upon learning the truth. Naomi’s mother is the one person she felt safe with and if she were to realize that her ultimate protector is no longer alive, she would feel threatened and alone in the world.It also illustrates that Obasan kept her word as Naomi’s â€Å"[mother] had requested that Stephen and [Naomi] be spared the truth† (259). This quotation illustrates Naomi’s mother’s love and guardianship towards her children. Also from this quotation it is understood that Naomi and her mother’s bond is so powerful that her mother being overseas still knows that the truth must be kept from Naomi in order for her to continue living her childhood without trouble. All the adults in the Nakane family were completely determined to keep Naomi’s innocence intact, which made them to keep the truth from her. Stephen and I are unconcerned wi th such worries and life for us is a quiet and pleasant holiday† this illustrates that Naomi is frequently left in the dark because the adults believe that she is too young to handle the upsetting truth (149). Consequently, Naomi lacks key facts and whenever she tries to comprehend an incident she gets tangled up by her lack of understanding and thus remains an innocent child. To proceed, Naomi as a young child believes in fairy tales and plays with dolls which advocate her feelings when she cannot find a way to express them on her own.As Naomi states in the novel, â€Å"Clearly we are the bear family in this strange house in the middle of the woods. I am the baby bear†¦Ã¢â‚¬  it reveals that Naomi as a child is confused about the issues that upset her family as she tries to understand their problems using characters from stories that she has read (136). It is shown that Naomi channels her own feeling into her toys as she says â€Å"†¦the doll is quite happy and e xcited about the train trip† (124).In this excerpt, it is obvious that Naomi is talking about herself rather than the doll. It shows that Naomi is innocent as she does not know the complete truth and believes that she is just going for a ride on the train which excites her. Following that, after getting off the train, Naomi proclaims that her doll is lost as she asks Obasan â€Å"where is my doll? † (128). Since Naomi’s mother gave her that doll, its absence can be associated with the separation she feels between herself and her mother, the ideal defender of her innocence.It is vivid that Naomi is an innocent child which is exemplified through her thoughts about fairies helping her â€Å"I am in a grade two reader full of fairies, sitting in the forest very still and waiting for one fairy†¦ to come flying†¦ and lead me down to the moss-covered door on the forest that opens to the tunnel leading to the place where my mother and father are hiding† (164). This quotation illustrates Naomi’s distress about the disturbing thoughts that come into her mind when she thinks about her parents also, she feels helpless at the hands of other powerful figures like the RCMP in Canada.Therefore, Naomi as a young child believes that her only hope is a mythical creature like a fairy that might help her locate her parents much like a child who believes in Santa Clause’s existence. Naomi is too young to interpret the reality and the difficulties of her and her family’s lives as they do not affect her much, proving that she is undoubtedly an innocent child. Lastly, Naomi is a helpless child who had to see the different side of the world too soon for her age.In the novel, Naomi declares that â€Å"Again and again the hen’s beak strikes and the chick lies on its side on the floor, its neck twisted back, its wings, outstretched fingers. The hen lifts a scaly leg, the claws collapsing and clutching as it struts around th e cage, bayoneting the chicks darting past Naomi’s feet, their wings outspread. † (63). Naomi’s fate is represented by the chicks as she is a defenseless being, practically powerless against the Canadian government’s attacks on her family. She is a guiltless child being punished by the government for no legitimate reason.Later on in the Novel, Naomi’s neighbor Old Man Gower who â€Å"carries her away, he tells [her] she must not tell [her] mother. † as she puts it (65). Exhibiting the fact that Naomi is a vulnerable subject of Old Man Gower’s sexual attacks. Also, Naomi was devastated as she could not seek the protection of her mother for she was ashamed of herself and also that Old Man Gower had asked her not to talk about anything to her mother. Therefore, she is an innocent child suffering in her own grief and confusion at a very young age.Subsequently, the reoccurring nightmare that Naomi has about the â€Å"three oriental woman t hat lay naked in the muddy road†¦ and several soldiers†¦ [Who] appeared to be guarding those women†¦ prisoners †¦Ã¢â‚¬  is crucial to understand the abuse she suffered at the hands of Old Man Gower (66). The women in her dream are defenseless against the armed men reflecting upon her own experience as a victim of her neighbor. In the novel, it is portrayed that Naomi is unprotected and vulnerable when exposed to matters that only adults should be aware of.All in all, Naomi’s innocence is a significant feature in her childhood as the adults in the Nakane family shield Naomi with their resolute endurance. An examination of the adults’ role in Naomi’s life reveals that they are essential because they try their best to protect her from the unlighted side of the world. After analyzing Naomi’s involvement with her toys or fairy tales it is revealed that she is unclear with the events occurring around her and henceforth turns to her dolls or fairy tales for an explanation or a solution for her questions.Naomi’s discovery about abuse highlights that Naomi is a young child being exposed to something inappropriate as she has yet to develop a sense of right or wrong in the world. In Joy Kogawa’s Novel, Obasan, Naomi is a naive child who is bewildered and agitated throughout the novel considering that she does not have experience of the life outside the protection of her parents. **** Works Cited Kogawa, Joy. Obasan. 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M4P 2Y3: Penguin Group, 1981. Print.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Business Communication Essay Example

Business Communication Essay Example Business Communication Essay Example It is essential that every country during its development has identified the main sources usage of which can give it competitive advantage in the world market. Thus, it is essential to understand why some product are being principal for one country and do not have such principal status among others, why these products are making the country being the competitive. Thus, the main statement of the current project is to understand what the country’s principal products are. Such research will bring the full understanding of the significance and strategic meaning of the products that are being principal for the particular country. The main limitation of the research is connected with the today’s extensive development of the technologies and particular sphere of business is being the principal for every country around the world. There are also the set of the business that are important for every country and in this basis most of them starting to affect the potential competitor using different strategies, for example, export or import barriers. In order to answer the stated question it is necessary to research the economics of the particular country, analyze its exports and imports, through the data analysis understand what products are being principal for the country. First of all, it is necessary to identify the set of products or services that are being the most valuable through the data analysis. Then, it is necessary to assess the GDP and the part of the GDP that the particular range of products set. Also it is necessary to pay attention why these products are being principal and not others: I. The analysis of the GDP A. The analysis of the GDP exports in 3 year B. The identification and analysis of the principal products of the particular country II. The principal products analysis A. The analysis of the fact why these products are principal for the particular country B. The analysis of the potential products that can become principal for the particular country III. The opportunities country has A. The analysis of significance of these products for other countries B. The analysis of the market trends for the potential products that particular country can offer Visit our custom essay writing service to get professional writing help from experts hired to help students with academic paper writing.

Monday, October 21, 2019

Importance of Carnival in Aphra Behn’s The Rover Essay Essay Example

Importance of Carnival in Aphra Behn’s The Rover Essay Essay Example Importance of Carnival in Aphra Behn’s The Rover Essay Paper Importance of Carnival in Aphra Behn’s The Rover Essay Paper â€Å"Masquerading! A obscene usage to corrupt our young person. There’s something more in this than I imagine. † – Don Pedro Aphra Behn. the first female dramatist to gain a life through her authorship. was besides one of the wittiest and entertaining every bit evidenced through her most good known drama. The Rover. Set in seventeenth century Italy while under the colonial reign of Spain. a big dramatis personae of characters becomes embroiled in scenes of unfaithfulness. seduction. deceit. and luxuriant swordplay. which create tenseness and confusion in add-on to many comedic episodes. The scene is Carnival clip in Venice. which is of import to the secret plan for several grounds: the erosion of masks ( as was customary ) allows a freedom from normal restraints. there is frequently in the drama a error made in individualities. fortunes can ( and do ) happen which could neer otherwise happen. it allows for a fast gait to be maintained which keeps the witnesss involved. and finally. â€Å"confusion captures the spirit of the carnival† ( 1 ) . During carnival times category barriers came down with the rich mingling with the hapless. The tradition of have oning masks at carnival clip became necessary in order to protect the individualities of the rich ( 2 ) . This besides gave chances to move out in a mode far removed from their accustomed 1. By holding her female characters hidden behind masks. Behn is able to take them from their traditional functions as adult females and give them empowerment. In consequence. they can presume new personalities and take their suppressions or the otherwise usual yokes that have been cast on them by a male-dominated society. Hellena is the perfect illustration of one throwing off suppressions and uncovering her inner ego behind the pretense of a mask. Slated for the convent in an attempt by her male parent to consolidate the household fundss. she decides that this carnival will be the clip she finds a adult male – and she sets her sights on one as dare and quick-witted as herself. She is able to track him in different camouflages and at one point sets out to â€Å"vex† him for his maintaining with Angellica. She shows herself to be a strong. independent-thinking adult female in an age when adult females had few personal rights. The carnival scene is the vehicle that gives her the freedom to act in the mode she does. The carnival scene is besides the cause of misguided individualities. Because of this confusion Behn is able to foster the comedic and suspense elements. For illustration. Don Pedro is denied his chance with the lovely Angellica when his friend ( and his intended brother-in-law ) Don Antonio pays his offering to be with her. Don Pedro is further incensed by the fact that this is a rebuff against his sister. Florinda. which finally leads to the scene of a clip and topographic point for a affaire dhonneur. Of class. Don Antonio believes he is facing Belvile from his verbal exchange with Don Pedro. Ironically. when Belvile comes to the assistance of Don Antonio subsequently. he is charged with really making the offense of wounding him. Unwittingly. Don Antonio presses Belvile into contending for him against Don Pedro for the award of Florinda. Belvile’s love! This is one of many cases when the characters end up in entertaining state of affairss due to misidentify individuality. The errors made by the characters frequently mistaking each other has an added consequence of the audience holding to pay particularly close attending themselves to how the secret plan develops. Since all of the action occurs during Carnival ( particularly Venetian ) . the audience of course expects some sort of confusion and mayhem to happen. This helter-skelter environment keeps the gait quickened doing the carnival puting a natural pick for a Swift paced drama. Traditionally. carnivals of this sort â€Å"would take topographic point in the assorted Venetian plaza and would affect repasts of imported daintinesss. dance and amusement by jugglers. acrobats. etc. every bit good a efforts of strength or dare. performed by immature work forces. and normally ensuing in being plunged into the stop deading Waterss of the canal. † ( 2 ) . With the goings-on throughout the metropolis during Carnival. the drama ( as the witnesss expect ) would of course exhibit the same unprompted ambiance of merriment and celerity of motion that occur during carnivals. The drama is besides doing a forward statement for its clip and can because of the peculiar nature of the carnival. Through Hellena. Behn is talking for women’s equality. Hellena while disguised is as brave and vocal as any adult male of the period. She is able to move as work forces do – taking a mate as one would livestock. Another mute averment Behn makes is of the intervention of adult females who were non privileged. Repeated efforts at ravishing Florinda because the work forces thought she was of a lower station don’t put work forces in a good visible radiation. The attitudes of these work forces are that this is recognized pattern and tolerated in seventeenth century society. Undeniably. it would look as if they saw it as their right. Finally. while most work forces would look at Willmore’s high-handed attitude and behaviour with what one might name fear ( who wouldn’t want to be a daredevil? ) . his prevarication. craftiness. and philandering ways are non qualities that cause one to reflect. These things along with the women’s sexual audacity would do this drama to be denigrated in the following epoch. In decision. Behn’s pick to put the action of the drama in Venice during a carnival was appropriate to the subject. Indeed. one could reason that without the carnival as a background. Behn could non hold as efficaciously pulled off the character’s relationships and the myriad encounters about every bit good. The characters actions speak as much if non more than their words do and the velocity of the drama is determined by these actions. This could merely hold been achieved by the confusion and spontaneousness inherent in the nature of carnivals. Therefore. the importance of Carnival in Aphra Behn’s The Rover was paramount to the success of the drama.

Sunday, October 20, 2019

St. Albert the Great Quotes

St. Albert the Great Quotes Known as Doctor Universalis (Universal Doctor) for the extraordinary depth of his knowledge and learning, Albertus Magnus wrote extensively on numerous subjects. Here are some words of ​wisdom  from a variety of his writings, as well as quotations that have been attributed to him. St. Albert the Great Quotes The aim of natural science is not simply to accept the statements of others, but to investigate the causes that are at work in nature. De Mineralibus (On Minerals) The beaver is an animal which has feet like those of a goose for swimming and front teeth like a dog, since it frequently walks on land. It is called the castor from castration, but not because it castrates itself as Isidore says, but because it is especially sought for castration purposes. As has been ascertained frequently in our regions, it is false that when it is bothered by a hunter, it castrates itself with its teeth and hurls its musk  away and that if one has been castrated on another occasion by a hunter, it raises itself up and shows that it lacks its musk. De Animalibus (On Animals). The Isidore Albertus refers to is Isidore of Seville, who wrote an encyclopedia that included descriptions of many animals, both real and fabulous. Do there exist many worlds, or is there but a single world? This is one of the most noble and exalted questions in the study of Nature. Attributed He took over anger to intimidate subordinates, and in time anger took over him. Attributed I shall not conceal a science that was before me revealed by the grace of God; I shall not keep it to myself, for being afraid of attracting its curse. What worth is a concealed science; what worth is a hidden treasure? The science I have learned without fiction I transmit with no regret. Envy upsets everything; an envious man cannot be fair before God. Every science and knowledge proceeds from God. Saying it proceeds from the Holy Ghost is a simple way of expressing oneself. No one can thus say Our Lord Jesus Christ without implying Son of God our Father, by work and grace of the Holy Ghost. In the same manner, this science cannot be separated from the One who has communicated it unto me. The Compound of Compounds. The science Albertus is talking about is alchemy. In studying nature we have not to inquire how God the Creator may, as He freely wills, use His creatures to work miracles and thereby show forth His power; we have rather to inquire what Nature with its immanent causes can naturally bring to pass. De Vegetabilibus (On Vegetation) Nature must be the foundation and model of science; thus Art works according to Nature in everything it can. Therefore, it is necessary that the Artist follows Nature and operates according to her. The Compound of Compounds Now it must be asked if we can comprehend why comets signify the death of magnates and coming wars, for writers of philosophy say so. The reason is not apparent, since vapor no more rises in a land where a pauper lives than where a rich man resides, whether he be king or someone else. Furthermore, it is evident that a comet has a natural cause not dependent on anything else; so it seems that it has no relation to someones death or to war. For if it be said that it does relate to war or someones death, either it does so as a cause or effect or sign. De Cometis (On Comets) The second great wisdom ... is the science of the judgments of the stars, which provides a link between natural philosophy and metaphysics ... No human science attains this ordering of the universe as perfectly as the judgment of the stars does. Speculum Astronomiae (The Mirror of Astronomy) This dumb ox will fill the world with his bellowing. Attributed. The quote was supposedly in response to students calling Thomas Aquinas a dumb ox because he tended to stay so quiet. To say that there is a soul in stones simply in order to account for their production is unsatisfactory: for their production is not like the reproduction of living plants, and of animals which have senses. For all these we see reproducing their own species from their own seeds; and a stone does not do this at all. We never see stones reproduced from stones ... because a stone seems to have no reproductive power at all. De Mineralibus Whoever believes that Aristotle was a god, must also believe that he never erred. But if one believes that Aristotle was a man, then doubtless he was liable to error just as we are. Physica

Saturday, October 19, 2019

The process of consolidation Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The process of consolidation - Lab Report Example The hydrostatic pressure therein becomes gradually dissipated thereby shifting the load to the soil solid thereby triggering a decrease in volume of the soil mass. It is worth noting that the rate at which water escapes is dependent on the permeability the of the soil in question. In which case, the escape of the pore water as the result of longtime static load makes up consolidation.  Consolidation test is usually carried engineers in the design of engineered structures and performance evaluation of a structure. Consolidation test yield results which are useful in estimating the magnitude of primary and secondary consolidation settlement of a given structure. Apparatus  Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ 1 bench, 3 sample cells of soil,  Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ 3 dial gauges which can be either analog or digital,  Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ 1 weight set. The soil sample was cut from a big soil block using a rigid confining ring with a sharp edge. Excess soil from the process was sliced away to leave a sample with a diameter to height r atio of at least three. Porous stones were placed on the top and bottom of the soil sample in order to give way for drainage. A stiff loading cap was placed on top of the upper porous stone followed by placing the set up on in a loading frame.   The load was imposed on the frame by positioning different weights on the loading frame. Measurement of soil sample compression over time was recorded by looking at the dial indicator. The deflection value data was used to measure the point at which the soil sample reached the primary consolidation end.

Friday, October 18, 2019

ARO Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

ARO - Assignment Example Ebola cuts across nearly all the mutual commitments of global health, medicine, and science anthropologists. This is because the tragedy exposed the political economy of illness and health, demonstrates how the movement of technology and science ceases or flows, and exposes the drawbacks of thrilling solutions to structural issues (Abromowitz, 2014). Additionally, Ebola emergency brings to light the outcomes of health with regard to reconfigured social relations created by the development and health regimes of governance. Ebola also tragically emphasizes racialized reasoning that determines the lives that count. As anthropologists, action-centered attitude is fundamental during such emergencies, since such approach would improve ethnographic expertise response in the affected nations. In order to improve the current situation of Ebola in West Africa today, Abromowitz (2014) suggested several things that anthropologists can use to connect the local and global populations in understanding the crisis. First, anthropologists can train epidemiologists on death counting in this region. This would work well in closing the gap between actual deaths and counted Ebola deaths, thus offering crucial information on movement, patterning, and expansion of the tragedy. Additionally, community anthropologists can observe the Ebola response systematically and report on, interpret, and explain existing local approaches. This will make it possible to make sense of local concepts and ideas, behaviors, and beliefs and suggests ways that are actionable. Given the noise around Ebola, anthropologists are expected to detect and track emerging risks amidst Ebola noise such as black market flows. Within the affected areas, anthropologists can hold multidisciplinary university based groups t o assist in real time tracking of the disease (Abromowitz, 2014). The role of such groups would be to evaluate the political,

Industrial Action Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Industrial Action - Essay Example The collective bargaining process in the U.K. has been described as adversary in nature because of the arms length bargaining style and the minimal communications employed, although it is a â€Å"representational system† since the labor movement is not seeking to overcome the political economic system. In sum, the degree of external control placed on employers by unions in the U.K. is limited in international comparison. Conditions of employment are set at the firm level and therefore more likely to give employers more flexibility in adapting HR policies to the firm context, although at times these policies also limit managerial flexibility, to wit, the restrictive work practices that evolved in U.K factories. The extent of industrial action : In the UK, official statistics on the use of industrial sanctions relate only to strikes. They measure three dimension of strike activity – their number (how frequent they are), their size ( number of workers involved) and their d uration (the number of working days lost). This last measure is often distorted by a few big strikes. For example, in 1979 an engineering industry- wide strike accounted for 55 percent of the 29.5 million working days lost in that year. In 2000 the number of working days lost in the UK was 499,00. However, disputes still happen – for example, the series of one day stoppages in 2002 on the railways over the widening of pay differentials between drivers, who were in short supply, and other railway employees.

Generations of winter Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Generations of winter - Essay Example Boris Nikitovich Gradov, who is not only the head of the family but a kind patriarch. Dr. Boris is one of the finest surgeons in all of Moscow. His caliber was unprecedented. As a consequence of his expertise and services to the nation, he and his family owned Silver Forest, which was an amazing dacha located outside Moscow that was very different from the everyday crowd of Kremlin. Till the 1930s, they lived as bourgeois counterparts would have will the regime was taken by the Bolsheviks.1 There was no sense to things in the world of Stalin. Anxiety and apprehensiveness prevailed the country. The Government would randomly strike on the population any time they want to and wish to and thus, the nation had no idea how to react. The intelligentsia, military, and general population had no power. The nation was splurged by terrorism and hopelessness. Terrorism was destroying the nation by any means possible. Terrorists were harming the people of the country themselves. It was precluding the people to succeed in life. Nikita examines the devastating condition of the country in the harshly ironic tone that encompasses the novel. Nikita illustrates the condition of millions of people of that era who were in a silent agreement with each other that an awful thing is happening that is nothing is happening in the nation. There is no progress being made. 2 A person is left scared by reading the novel as nobody has the slightest idea that who dies in the concentration camp or not. It is the arbitrariness of the novel that it does not say much about its ending and where it is taking the readers. It keeps the readers glued to it without saying much or almost nothing. The anxiety of the people, the state brutality which is completely pointless and violent artistry keeps the reader glued to the book. The Kafkaesque’s era was a time of brutality off course. The images of camp life and also tormenting chambers of N.K.V.D are also very traumatic and distressing. When World War II begins, we are relieved that at least now there is a relief that the conflict has become localized and is not global. The frightening view of sufferings of human life is unclearly understandable as Aksyonov described it. 3 The character of Nina is also very prominent in the novel as it tells about the pretentiousness of Soviet Union. As Aksyonov wrote it disdainfully, â€Å"The literature of socialist realism was in full flower; Formalism had already been completely rooted out. Soviet poets, playwrights and novelists had been gathered up in a single union and were vigorously turning out the works the people needed†.4 The novel Generations of Winter is embedded with Russian poetry throughout the book. Nina plays an important role as the Soviet literary scene is described by her in detail. All the poets and quotations are a benevolence of Nina in the play. The novelist admires the efforts by these poets as his writing depicts. One of the most touching scene of the novel occurs in his mother’s journal in the reunion of mother and son and thus the profound connection between the two is revealed. This connection is the Russian poetry. But, it is unlucky that the allusive character of this novel is lost when it is translated. 5 Mr. Vassily Aksyonov has never been an easy writer to translate because he appreciates slang language and likes to pursue many articulation clashes. The translators of Generations of Wi

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Home Work # 6 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Home Work # 6 - Assignment Example Therefore, an economy undergoes a rapid recovery period which is accompanied by technological advancement. Resources are allocated towards the reconstruction of the damaged capital stock such as foreign aid and human capital. In the short run the aggregate output will grow at a higher rate than the growth rate of the labour force due to the increased savings and foreign aid which pushes the recovery of the capital growth rate back to normal. d) After world war two, the real GDP in Germany and Japan grew steadily due to the period of technological advancement and reconstruction. During the recovery period, the technology in these countries grew at a faster rate leading to the faster growth of effective labour which is translated into their real GDP. 6. With the rise in depreciation, the equilibrium steady-state capital-labour ratio declines.as a result, output per worker becomes lower and that leads to lower consumption of the same worker. This is based on the assumption that the capital-labour ratio is not very high in that an increase in k can reduce consumption of the worker. On the long run, there are no effects on the growth rate of the total capital stock. This is due to the fact that, in the long run, the capital stock should grow at the same rate as the labor rate growth is and therefore the capital-labour ratio remains constant. 7a) The government purchases per worker are indicated by IS at the inintial time, as the government purchases more, the IS curve shifts to IS2 curve which goes up and further to the right of the curve. This shows the increase in both the government spending and also the increase in the interest rate of the government revenue. b). if the government increases g, it will lead to reduction in the savings of the government and therefore capital per worker increases due to increased savings, output per

Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Management - Essay Example Since then, the debate has been on in favour and against of the thought and more particularly to find the right balance where profits really benefit the society. Counter extreme to the argument was the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility which stated that businesses are required to respond to societal needs in other forms as well than just earning profit to maximise employment. Businesses have to some extend accept this counter thought with further extension in idea regarding maximising shareholder and owner’s wealth and many other sub ideas. However, the finding of the real right balance between the corners is yet being debated as no measure has yet been developed to perfect solution. PRIMARY OBJECTIVE OF MANAGEMENT- THEORATICAL REFERENCES AND THEIR ANALYSIS To state in one sentence primary objective of the business is to benefit society, at the same time remember the fact that owners and shareholders are also part of society and hence, not at the cost of the sharehold ers’ benefit. The debate shall focus more on the fact that how and to what this benefit extends shall be translated. Exploring the basic idea of Friedman who stated that the aim of business is to achieve maximum profits within boundaries of law and this is how society is benefitted, one finds this idea satisfactory unless there comes any law that does not support societal interest or even more questioning does there exist any law that goes against the interest of society? All the laws are made in larger interest of society and with this it can stressed that Friedman’s thought had no flaw. However, most of the literature questioned the profit maximisation part with taking it to the point that contrast to the societal concern and scope of debate enlarged in direction of benefit of firm or society as whole and how it should be transferred. Considering this school of thought, more appropriate and concrete thought requires it be benefit or wealth of all stakeholders, where stakeholders include every person who is directly or indirectly connected with organisation. This stance has no flaw as the basic idea constrains to remain operational within. (Stakeholder Analysis) To support the argument, consider the example of Marks and Spencer. UK retail giant with global existence recent matter charging higher price to its women lingerie product stating the reason of higher cost and then higher tax was highly negated on social media website where more than 14000 people joined the cause for protest. The protest ultimately forced the giant to bow down accept the decision as their mistake while taking back decision, giving excess discounts to all customer of that product class as well as apologies to the society. To extract from this example is the fact that if it the said argument would have been true in place then M&S’s decision should have been appreciated as the giant only aimed to cover the excess cost incurred on the product, that would have added to its profitability , though in its respective share only. While, people who protested just joined the cause for bias attitude towards certain people and of course not all were affected by the decision. Hence, what needs be made the basis of maximisation is the stakeholders’ wealth that is always in position to affect the position of firm (Bejou, 2011). From the given image, it can also be concluded that stakeholders lie in levels. Firm

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Home Work # 6 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Home Work # 6 - Assignment Example Therefore, an economy undergoes a rapid recovery period which is accompanied by technological advancement. Resources are allocated towards the reconstruction of the damaged capital stock such as foreign aid and human capital. In the short run the aggregate output will grow at a higher rate than the growth rate of the labour force due to the increased savings and foreign aid which pushes the recovery of the capital growth rate back to normal. d) After world war two, the real GDP in Germany and Japan grew steadily due to the period of technological advancement and reconstruction. During the recovery period, the technology in these countries grew at a faster rate leading to the faster growth of effective labour which is translated into their real GDP. 6. With the rise in depreciation, the equilibrium steady-state capital-labour ratio declines.as a result, output per worker becomes lower and that leads to lower consumption of the same worker. This is based on the assumption that the capital-labour ratio is not very high in that an increase in k can reduce consumption of the worker. On the long run, there are no effects on the growth rate of the total capital stock. This is due to the fact that, in the long run, the capital stock should grow at the same rate as the labor rate growth is and therefore the capital-labour ratio remains constant. 7a) The government purchases per worker are indicated by IS at the inintial time, as the government purchases more, the IS curve shifts to IS2 curve which goes up and further to the right of the curve. This shows the increase in both the government spending and also the increase in the interest rate of the government revenue. b). if the government increases g, it will lead to reduction in the savings of the government and therefore capital per worker increases due to increased savings, output per

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Mona Lisa - The Enigmatic Meaning Essay Example for Free

Mona Lisa The Enigmatic Meaning Essay The Enigmatic Meaning They call her â€Å"The Enigmatic Woman,† yet the painting at first glance is quite banal. It looks a lot like any run of the mill portrait with the subject positioned in the center while she sits facing and staring directly at the viewer. Even the colors are boring in this painting with its abundance of earth tones with different mellow shades of faded green, brown, blue, and burnt orange. The picture itself is only 30†x21† which is about double the size of the average college textbook. With all of the hallmarks of a picture that most people would discard, it is quite an enigma as to why the world has been obsessed with the â€Å"Mona Lisa† for over 500 years. In â€Å"Ways of Seeing† John Berger, an art historian and novelist (only a tiny sample of the different ways I could title this Renaissance man), offers his readers a way into understanding the moment captured in paintings, especially mysterious paintings like the â€Å"Mona Lisa.† He suggests that viewers ask questions about and to the painting as way into entering into a sort of dialogue with the artist and his or her subject. By asking the appropriate questions, I was able to get a bit of a grasp on exactly why this enigmatic woman’s gaze has been capturing the rest of the world’s for so long, but I was also left questioning Berger’s theory. Berger encourages everyone with an interest in art to complete this process in order to fight against the â€Å"mystification† of classic paintings, but sometimes mystification is part of the experience of enjoying art and there is merit in that as well. As the title of the essay hints, Berger believes that â€Å"Every image embodies a Way of Seeing† (99 My Italics), meaning that every image also includes the perspective of the artist to the subject. Once a reader can start to grasp where the artist is coming from in relation to what he is painting, then the image may start to make sense. As an example of this process Berger examines â€Å"Regents of the Old Men’s Alms House† by Frans Hals, which is depicted below: Berger contextualizes the pictures by first inquiring into the artist’s social status at the time. During the commission of the painting Hals was â€Å"an old man of over eighty, [and] was destitute† (101). These wealthy men that Hals depicted gave him â€Å"three loads of peat† (101), or rotting vegetation, for this portrait. With those facts in mind, Berger comes to the conclusion that there is a sense of bitterness in the perspective of the painting, which may be why Hals depicted the third man from the right as being drunk. Berger argues that the man’s expression and hat are not necessarily a result of facial paralysis and fashion as art historians argue, but part of the â€Å"drama of these paintings† (102) which in this case is an old pauper struggling with his feelings of these men while trying to stay objective in his depiction of them; therefore, he let a glimpse of the truth out, a glimpse at these regents’ corruption. So, how does one begin to ask questions about the â€Å"Mona Lisa†? Perhaps it is best to start the same way that Berger does, by understanding who the artist was at the time of the painting. According to the Louvre’s official website, (the museum where the painting hangs) the painting is believed to have been painted between 1503 and 1506. Leonardo da Vinci, the artist, would have been just over fifty at the time. Kenneth Clark from The Burlington Magazine explains that â€Å"after he had lingered over it four years, [he] left it unfinished.† In 1516 the king of France invited him to work on a project. BBC contributor Bob Chaundy believes that da Vinci took Mona Lisa with him to continue working on it until his death in 1519. So what we have is man nearing the end of his life working on a seemingly personal project (since he took it with him everywhere), a project that he felt he never finished. The next obvious question: who is the woman? According to the Louvre, the model was Lisa Gherardini who was by all accounts an average Italian middle-class mother to five children. Her husband, Francesco Giocondo, commissioned da Vinci to paint the portrait as a way to celebrate the new Giocondo home and the arrival of their second son. Essentially, Mona Lisa, My Lady Lisa, is a housewife put on a pedestal. She is arguably the most glorified housewife of all time. With an understanding of the artist and the subject, it is time to ask, â€Å"what is the perspective here?† What point of view was da Vinci trying to give his audience? Knowing the information that I do, it is hard to even suggest that there was an audience for the painting. The accounts suggest that da Vinci painted and gave what he was commissioned to Gioncondo, but he kept one of the original sketches to keep working on. In other words, the Mona Lisa the world knows today was really for da Vinci’s eyes only. The portrait is an intimate depiction perhaps of someone who baffled da Vinci’s sensibilities. Of all the different subjects and models da Vinci painted, it was a middle-class mother who captivated his attention. Perhaps da Vinci could not even wrap his own mind around why she was so enthralling and so spent the rest of his life trying to capture that â€Å"it factor† she seemed to exude. In a sense, da Vinci was trying to capture the feeling of love at first sight, the feeling of being completely attracted to someone and not knowing why. So how does this feeling of awe-inspiring adoration flow over into the other stylistic elements of the portrait? Most people tend to comment on her eyes and her smile, and if you notice, they do not really seem to correspond to each other. If you only look at her eyes and cover her mouth, the eyes give a sense that she is giving a much broader smile than she actually is since the eyes are wrinkled and upturned. The high placement of the cheekbones also lend to this interpretation. The rest of the portrait with the conservative colored clothes and pose do not exude the sense of joviality that the eyes give. Those eyes that seem to contradict the other aspects of the portrait are also paradoxically the focus since many people comment on how Lisa’s gaze seems to follow you wherever you go. Her eyes tell you one thing, and the rest of her tells you another. She feels two emotions simultaneously, and that is mysterious. Many people also tend to comment on the background since it is not based on any real location (BBC). It is almost other-worldly, alien in that sense. In the same way that she can feel two emotions at the same time, it is as if she can be in two places at the same time since she is posed in between two  manmade columns on a balcony; she is simultaneously human and extraterrestrial. The colors of the background also give this sense since they are split into two. The top half is bluish green in its depiction of the sky, water, and trees while the lower half is brown and orange in its depiction of the land. Finally, her equilateral triangle pose really seems to seal this reading, for what is a triangle but the convergence of two opposite points on a single point? Mona Lisa is that point of convergence. She is place where two emotions can converge. She is the place where terrestrial and extraterrestrial converge. She is the point where a mundane housewife converges with an iconoclast of the world. She is the epitome of mystery since she cannot be pinned down to just one thing. Mystery, though, is what John Berger is fighting against. He wants to take what he calls the â€Å"bogus religiosity† (109) that mystifies art out of the equation by giving people the tools they need to make meaning on their own. He believes that art critics and historians mystify by â€Å"explaining away what might otherwise be evident† (103); in a sense they try to confuse interpretations that might be obvious through academic discourse and elitism. But what happens when the point is mystification? When the point of the painting is to leave the viewer confused? Is not there a place for that in art also? If it was not for this mysteriousness that Lisa creates, would anyone care? I think not. â€Å"Works Cited† page deleted

Monday, October 14, 2019

Wet Granulation Advantages And Disadvantages Biology Essay

Wet Granulation Advantages And Disadvantages Biology Essay In this lab three different sets of tablets were produced i.e soft, medium and hard using different processes which mainly included i.e Direct Compression Vs Wet Massing ,different excipients which included (Lactose Vs Calcium Phosphate) and different binders which included (PVP Vs Klucel). Once all the tablets were produced by the above mentioned varying processes, excipients and binders they were studied and compared to see how they would influence a range of tablet testing parameters such as uniformity of weight, friability, crushing strength disintegration time. Introduction: A tablet is perhaps the oldest and the most common pharmaceutical dosage form. Its popularity is due to its convince in the administration of the drug without the help or supervision of a health care practitioner, thus providing patients freedom and a very cost effective means of providing a reproducible medication. A tablet seldom consists of only the active ingredient. In fact , a tablet represents a mixture of one or more active ingredients with a number of inactive ingredients or excipients. There are many reasons for formulating a tablet product with excipients, ranging from management of small dosage amounts of active ingredients to esthetic resons of colour and shape of a product. However, the most fundamental and critical objective of a tablet product is to provide/deliver the active ingredient accurately and reproducibly. Therefore, from this perspective, a tablet is now commonly considered as a drug delivery device (Ahmed, 2000). However all tablets are made by compressing a particulate solid between two punches in a die of a tablet press. For an active ingredient to be transformed into tablets of satisfactory quality , the formulation must have three essential attributes. First, the formulation must flow into the die space of the tablet press sufficiently rapidly and in a reproductible manner Second, the particles in the formulation must cohere when subject to a compressing force, and that coherence should remain after the compressive has been removed. Third after the compression event is complete, it must be possible for the tablet to be removed from the press without damage to either the tablet or the press. Very few active ingredients possess all three of these essentials and some posses none of them. Hence some preliminary treatment is almost invariably necessary. Methods of Tablet Manufactures: There are three main methods of tablet manufacture designed to confer the above mentioned essential attributes to a tablet formulation. Wet granulation and direct compression are the most important, with dry granulation (also termed as precompression or slugging) used in some circumstances. Fig shows the processes of wet granulation and direct compression broken down into their constituent stages. The relative simplicity of the direct compression process is immediately apparent. Ease of removal of the tablet from the press is, in theory at least, readily achieved. Friction occurs between the tablet and the die and punches of the press, which can be overcome by including a lubricant in the formulation. Hence every formulation, irrespective of the method of manufacture, will include a lubricant . This will usually be a metallic salt of a fatty acid such as magnesium stearate. The two other prerequisites-flow and cohesion-can only be achieved by more elaborate technique and are in fact the reasons why wet dry granulation processes were devised. As part of its complexity, wet granulation involves the addition of a liquid (usually water), followed by its removal, normally by evaporation. In addition to the energy requirements of this drying process, the presence of water might bring about hydrolysis of the active ingredients, which will be exacerbated at the elevated temperatures used for drying. If a major component of the formulation such as the diluents were to possess the necessary degree of fluidity and compressibility, granulation would be unnecessary. This is the basis of direct compression method of tablet manufacture. Wet Granulation: Advantages and Disadvantages: The wet granulation process is the traditional method of manufacture and is frequently used in the pharmaceutical industry. Expertise in wet granulation is widely available, as in the required equipment. The process improves flow and cohesion reduces dust and cross contamination and permits the handling of powder blends without loss of homogeneity. Though it has been practiced for many years and therefore may be perceived as an old fashioned process., it must be borne in mind that the wet franulation process has itself undergone a transformation in recent decades. High-speed mixer-granulators, fluidized bed granulation and drying and an ever increasing use of automation have served to make wet granulation a much more efficient and economic process than it once was( Marinelli, 2009). Nevertheless, the wet granulation process still retains many inherent disadvantages. Problems include choice and method of addition of the binder and the effect of drying time and temperature on drug stability and its distribution within the solid mass. Direct Compression Process: Advantages and Disadvantages The most striking feature of the direct compression process is its simplicity and hence economy. Less equipment is required and the number of stages in the process, each of which will require validation, is greatly reduced. There are also lower labour costs, reduced processing time and lower power consumption. On top of that since direct compression is a dry procedure therefore there would be no need for a drying stage. Thus, exposure to water and the elevated temperatures needed to remove that water are avoided, resulting in a decreased risk of deterioration of the active ingredient. A further advantage of DC is that tablets disintegrate into their primary particles rather than granular aggregates. The resultant increase in surface area available for dissolution should result in faster drug release. On the other hand talking about disadvantages, the primary limitation on the use of direct compression is that it depends on the fluidity and compressibility of tablet diluents. Therefor e it cannot be used for low potency, high dose active ingredients, where the inclusion of sufficient diluents in the formulation to permit direct compression would lead to unacceptably large tablets. Thus, active ingredients such as paracetamol and aspirin do not tend themselves to the DC process. However, as stated earlier, such ingredients are often available in pregranulated form (Holm, 2009) Thus considering the different ways to produce tablet it is also important to mention here that there has also been an increased emphasis in developing tablets that provide controlled disintegration/release process of the active ingredient.. These tablets are hence known by different names such as slow,extended, controlled, sustained or delayed release tablets to reflect their drug release characteristics. These modified drug release products provide further convenience to patients by reduced frequency of drug administration, thus increasing the chance of compliance as well. However for establishing the quality of a tablet product, the fundamentals remain the same i.e to ascertain that the product delivers the intended active ingredient in an accurate and reproducible manner. Therefore, tablet testing can be broadly divided into three aspects or categories: Confirmation of the nature of the active ingredient and the product ( Identity, quantity, impurities, integrity etc) Establishing pharmaceutical availability of the active moiety both in vitro and in vivo in humans and if required also in animals. Establishing stability profiles to achieve shelf life. Testing of nature of the tablet products: As a consequence one seeks to establish whether the tablets are within specifications, for example the nature of the active ingredients (identification) expected amount (assay) purity (related compounds) and uniformity of the amount of drug from tablet to tablet (uniformity of dosage units). Commonly these testing procedures are described in pharmacopeias under a specific name. In addition to these tests some other tests such as friability, hardness, disintegration etc are also conducted and will be described as below Uniformity of Dosage Units (B.P Pharmacopoeial Tests) This test is conducted to establish consistency in the content of active ingredient from tablet to tablet. There are generally two approaches taken in establishing this: weight variation or content uniformity. If the active ingredient represents not less than 50% weight of the tablet and greater than 50 mg, then one may establish uniformity of dosage units using the weight variation method. A sample of 10 tablets are weighed individually and results of these weighing are recorded. In the case of the content uniformity approach, a sample of 10 tablets are individually analyzed using the analytical method described under the assay procedure. It is mandatory to use content uniformity for tablets with less than 50 mg of active ingredient and/ or representing less than 50% total mass of the tablets. The content uniformity approach is preferred over the weight variation approach as it more precisely reflects the variation of the active ingredient from tablet to tablet. The required specifi cation for this test is that uniformity of dosage unit should be within a range of 85%-115% with a relative standard deviation of less than or equal to 6% (Holm, 2009) Friability ( Non B.P Pharmacopoeial Test) This test is intended to determine, under defined conditions, the friability of uncoated tablets, the phenomenon whereby tablet surfaces are damaged and/or show evidence of lamination or breakage when subjected to mechanical shock or attrition. Commercially available apparatuses known as friabilators are used for the test. Basically, it consists of a drum with diameter between 283mm and 291mm and having width of 36 mm-40 mm, made of transparent plastic material The drum is attached to the horizontal axis of a device that rotates at 25_1 rpm. The tablets are tumbled at each turn of the drum by a curve projection with an inside radius of 75.5 mm-85.5mm that extends from middle of the drum to outer wall. Thus, at each turn, the tablets roll or slide and fall onto the drum wall or onto each other. Usually, a sample of 10 tablets are tested at a time, unless tablet weight is 0.65 g or less, where 20 tablets are tested. After 100 turns, the tablet samples are evaluated by weighing. If the reduction in the total mass of the tablets is more than 1%, the tablets fail the friability test. Generally, the test is done once. If cracked, cleaved, or broken tablets are obvious, then the sample also fails the test (Marinelli, 2009). Hardness Testing ( Non B.P Pharmacopoeial Test) A tablet requires a certain amount of mechanical strength to withstand the shocks of handling in its manufacturing, packing, shipping, and dispensing. As discussed before, hardness and friability are most common measures used to evaluate tablet strength. The need for testing hardness or crushing strength, in addition to friability, may be explained with an analogy that friability determines how fragile a tablet is. If a tablet is more fragile than expected, then the friability test will detect its substandard quality. However, on the other hand, if the tablets are more robust than desired, a friability test would not detect this deficiency. It is the tablet hardness test that will detect the deficiency (Holm, 2009) Disintegration Test (B.P Pharmacopoeial Tests) A disintegration test is a test to establish how fast a tablet disintegrates into aggregates and/or finer particles. The test assumes that if product disintegrates within a short period of time, such as within 5 min, then the drug would be released as expected and one should not anticipate a problem in the quality of a drug product. Although this test is in use for some products in pharmacopeias, its use is generally diminishing in favor of drug dissolution testing (Holm, 2009) Materials Methods: Please refer to the Pharmaceutics Handbook for MPharm Year2 4.0 ) Results Discussion: A fundamental quality attribute for all pharmaceutical preparations is the requirement for a constant dose of drug between individual tablets. In practice, small variations between individual preparations are accepted and the limits for this variation are defined as standards in pharmacopoeias. For tablets, uniformity of dose or dose variation is tested in two separate tests: uniformity of weight and uniformity of active ingredient. These either reflect indirectly or measure directly the amount of drug substance in the tablet. Uniformity of active ingredient: The uniformity of active ingredient is carried out by ensuring a constant dose of drug between individual tablets. Traditionally, dose variation between tablets is tested in two separate tests; 1- Weight uniformity 2- Content uniformity If the drug forms greater part of the tablet, any variation in the tablet weight obviously indicates a variation in the active ingredient. (Weight uniformity test) If the drug is potent (USP specifies 50 mg of the active ingredient or less), the excipients form the greater part of the tablet weight and the correlation between the tablet weight and amount of the active ingredient can be poor, in this case another test (Content uniformity) must be performed (Holm, 2009) In this lab report the weight uniformity test was carried out (which is one of BP requirements) and the following results were obtained. The below table also shows the maximum and minimum percentage error. Table 4.1: Shows the calculated values for CV% along with maximum and minimum % error for various tablets produced by different processes, binders and excipients. Method Excipient Binder Mean / mg Range / mg % Error    CV% Min Max Min Max Direct Compression Lactose 169 164 173 2.95 2.36 1.7 Direct Compression Calcium Phosphate 146 141 148 3.42 1.36 1.5 Wet Massing Lactose PVP 122 120 125 1.63 2.45 1.4 Wet Massing Calcium Phosphate PVP 175 172 179 1.71 2.20 1.2 Wet Massing Lactose Klucel 118 116 119 1.69 0.84 0.9 Wet Massing Calcium Phosphate Klucel 149 142 154 4.69 3.35 2.88 Thus by the help of the above table 4.1 it can be clearly seen that all the tablets produced by different processes, different binders and different excipients are within the percentage max and min error show values below 6% of CV% thus all of them have passed the weight uniformity test. Different Binders: Binders are the substances which are added either dry or in wet- form to form granules or to form cohesive compacts for directly compressed tablets. An ideal binder should have good binding properties, as determined by compressibility under pressure, high plasticity, low elasticity and small particle size. Small particle size facilitates even distribution of the binder through the inter-particulate void spaces in a tablet. Uniform binder distribution in the tablet results in decreased pore structure and subsequent enhancement in tablet crushing strength. To reduce friability, a binder with highly plastic properties (high deformability) is essential. A further requirement for a good binder is low hygroscopicity. Excessive uptake of moisture (greater than 5 percent) or high moisture content can lead to instability and sticking during production (Summers, 2002) There are many excipients used as binders in the direct compression; these include hydroxypropylcellulose (HPC), methylcellulose (MC), povidone (PVP), hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC), and starches and their derivatives, such as pregelatinized and granulated starches. These polymers differ in their physico-chemical, mechanical and morphological characteristics. For direct compression, studies suggest highly compactable, plastic, fine particle size binders facilitate compression of drugs at relatively low filler-to-drug ratios, therefore representing ideal properties for tablet binders(Summers, 2002) The two different binders that were used in this lab were PVP Klucel XPF. In order to study the effects of different binders the following two figs will be used. Fig one represents the friability disintegration time Vs Hardness for tablets produced by wet massing with PVP as a binder and Lactose as a filler. Fig 4.1) Shows relationship between friability, hardness disintegration time for tablet produced by the process (wet massing) , excipient (Lactose) binder (PVP) Friability : 1.05 % Hardness: 3.75 Kp Disintegration Time: 2.12 decimal mins The above figure represents the friability, Disintegration time and Hradness for a tablet produced the process of wet massing in the presence of lactose (as an excipient) and PVP as a binder. The value of friability as percentage drops from 2% to about 0.75 % as the hardness increases. This is because as friability is the ability to form fines or fragments of the original tablet and since the hardness of the tablet is increasing therefore consequently less fragmentation of the tablet would occur/ take place. On the other hand however the values for disintegration time augments from 0 to 4.5 with an increase in the value of hardness. This is due to the fact that compacts develop mechanical strength by creation of a surface bonding area between particles. This is mainly achieved by irreversible particle deformation that flattens initial asperity. The decrease of particle surface roughness enables molecular forces to act. Thus, the indentation hardness can be considered as that portion of the compression pressure that contributes to the formation of interparticulate contacts. Accordingly (Hiestand, 2000) proposed the tablet hardness to correspond to the magnitude of the bonding active compression pressure considering these arguments for the strengthening mechanism of tablets, the direct link between hardness and bonding points seems to be a reasonable theoretical approach. Fig 4.2) Shows relationship between friability, hardness disintegration time for tablet produced by the process (wet massing) , excipient (Lactose) binder (Klucel) Optimum Hardness: 6.5 Kp Optimum Friability: 2.70% Optimum Disintegration Time: 3.45 (time/ decimal mins) The above figure represents the friability, Disintegration time and Hardness for a tablet produced the process of wet massing in the presence of lactose (as an excipient) and Klucel as a binder. From the above figure 4.2 it can be seen that with increased hardness of the tablet the value of the friability drops down. Whereas a direct relationship can be seen between the hardness and disintegration time. Comparing the above two fig 4.1 and 4.2 , it can be seen that fig 4.2 has an optimum hardness value of 6.5 whereas that for fig 4.1 has a hardness value of 3.75 .In a similar fashion there is a difference in the values of optimum disintegration time too with fig 4.2 showing higher disintegration time in comparison to that showed by fig 4.1.This difference in the optimum hardness value is due to the difference of binders. From the obtained results it can be seen that using Klucel results in optimum hardness much high in comparison to when PVP is used. But the value for optimum friability is less i.e 1.05% when PVP is used in comparison to Klucel (friability value is 2.70%). In a similar fashion the values for disintegration time is less for tablets produced by PVP whereas it is high for tablets produced by Klucel . Hence from the results obtained above the PVP seems to be a superior binder in comparison to Klucel in terms of lower friability and less disintegration time period. Fig 4.3) Shows relationship between friability, hardness disintegration time for tablet produced by the process (wet massing) , excipient (Calcium Phosphate ) binder (PVP) Optimum Hardness: 5.8 Kp Optimum Friability: 0.78% Optimum Disintegration Time: 0.38 (time/ decimal mins) Fig 4.4) Shows relationship between friability, hardness disintegration time for tablet produced by the process (wet massing) , excipient (Calcium Phosphate ) binder (Klucel) Optimum Hardness: 1.4 Kp Optimum Friability: 0% Optimum Disintegration Time: 0.2 (time/ decimal mins) From fig 4.4 it can be seen that the friability behaves quite unexpectedly with increasing hardness. Normally with the tablets, the increase of compression force causes a reduction of friability. The value of friability falls down from 2.75 % to 0 but then starts to rise again as the hardness augments to 5 Kp. One of the possible explanation for this trend could be due to the fact that When the compression force increases, the particles deform plastically and the tablets become harder and less friable But at higher compression forces the friability of the tablets seemed to increase again although the crushing strength remain stable. This could be explained by some fragmentation of the system. Thus again by the help of the above two fig 4.3 and 4.8 it can be clearly seen that the results obtained in this comparison case are opposite to the results obtained by the help of the fig 4.1 4.2. PVP yielded tablets which have higher optimum hardness in comparison to those produced by Klucel. A similar case is with friability and disintegration time too. Thus in this case Klucel stands out to be a superior binder (with respect to low friability and disintegration value). However literarure (Ahmed, 2000) shows that K90 grade for PVP used in this lab (more viscous in comparison to that of Klucel) should produce harder granules. Furthermore using a high grade for PVP like K90 , which is highly viscous, would result in higher dissolution time and hence high disintegration time, which would also consequence in the production of harder tablets. Thus the harder the tablet are the lower friability they would have. Klucel on other hand is less viscous, therefore is will produce softer granules hence softer tablets (therefore low disintegration time and high friability of the tablets will be observed) But this case is not entirely true in all circumstances, as it depends on the grades of the binders used. For example some (Summers, 2002) shows that some grades of Klucel exhibits a unique combination of thermoplasticity with organic solvent or aqueous solubility, allowing tough tablet preparation using many different formulation techniques. Furthermore a tougher binder with a high degree of plastic flow provides better friability performance. In addition, such binder characteristics allow a tableting process to run at a higher compaction speed without capping process. Beyond unmatched tablet hardness and friability, benefits of tableting with Klucel include: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Lower compression and ejection forces; and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Reduction or elimination of tablet capping. On top of this (Boyle) also shows that Klucel can be used at lower use levels to yield superior tablets, compared to tablets with higher binders levels of HPMC, MC, PVP (Grade K 70) and pre-gelatinized starch. (Aqualon) also stated that High-dose acetaminophen formulations using lower levels of poorer binder like PVP (K70) resulted in poorer formulations due to capping. Furthermore, Klucel (Low Grade) has low viscosity due to which it has much lower (almost twice less) the dissolution time in comparison to that for PVP (grade K70). This has a direct impact on disintegration. Thus the lower the dissolution time is, the faster it will disintegrate (hence will show fast effect) (Marinelli, 2009) Different Excipients: In this lab only two different types of excipients were used i.e Lactose and Calcium Phosphate Fig 4.5) Shows relationship between friability, hardness disintegration time for tablet produced by the process (wet massing) , excipient (Lactose) binder (PVP) Optimum Hardness: 3.78Kp Optimum Friability: 1.1 % Optimum Disintegration Time: 2.15 (time/ decimal mins) Fig 4.6) Shows relationship between friability, hardness disintegration time for tablet produced by the process (wet massing) , excipient (Calcium Phosphate ) binder (PVP) Optimum Hardness: 5.80 Kp Optimum Friability: 0.78% Optimum Disintegration Time: 0.38 (time/ decimal mins) By the help of the fig 4.5 and 4.6 it can be clearly seen that the value of optimum hardness (for lactose) 3.78 Kp is quite low in comparison to the value of optimum hardness 5.80Kp for tablets which had calcium phosphate as main excipient. However the same figures also show that lactose has a higher value for friability (1.1%) and disintegration time (2.15 decimal min) in comparison to those showed by calcium phosphate. (Friability 0.78%) and disintegration (0.38 time decimal mins). This difference is due to the fact that lactose is more compressible than calcium phosphate and hence requires less amount of compressible force (as this is what the obtained data suggests). However in real time it has been proposed by (Marinelli, 2009) that calcium phosphate has higher density, hence higher compressibility. Therefore in such a case low compression weight would be required to produce hard tablets with less friability. Whereas in case of lactose it has been suggested that it has lower tap ped density hence poor compressibility. This suggests that at lower pressures it will be elastic and therefore a higher compression weight will be required to produce hard tablets with lesser/lower friability. Fig 4.7) Shows relationship between friability, hardness disintegration time for tablet produced by the process (wet massing) , excipient (Lactose) binder (Klucel) Optimum Hardness: 6.5 Kp Optimum Friability: 2.70% Optimum Disintegration Time: 3.45 (time/ decimal mins) Fig 4.8) Shows relationship between friability, hardness disintegration time for tablet produced by the process (wet massing) , excipient (calcium phosphate) binder (Klucel) Optimum Hardness: 1.4 Kp Optimum Friability: 0% Optimum Disintegration Time: 0.2 (time/ decimal mins) Thus by the help of the figures 4.7 and 4.8 it can be seen that the results obtained for lactose and calcium phosphate are opposite to the results obtained in figures 4.5 and 4.6. Fig 4.7 and 4.8 show that tablets produced using lactose had high optimum hardness to those produced by calcium phosphate. In a similar fashion the values for friability and disintegration time for tablets produced using lactose were high in comparison to those produced by calcium phosphate. However literature (Marinelli, 2009) suggests that lactose is also more water soluble than calcium phosphate therefore it will dissolve and provide a pathway for diffusion of drug and erosion of matrix, leading to a faster (lower dinintegration time) release of drug from matrix tablets (in comparison to calcium phosphate). Different Processess: The two different sets of processes used in this lab were direct compression and wet massing Fig 4.9) Shows relationship between friability, hardness disintegration time for tablet produced by the process (wet massing) , excipient (Lactose) binder (PVP) Optimum Hardness: 3.78 Kp Optimum Friability: 1.1 % Optimum Disintegration Time: 2.15 (time/ decimal mins) Fig 4.10 ) Shows relationship between friability, hardness disintegration time for tablet produced by the process (Direct Compression) excipient (Lactose) Optimum Hardness: 3.00 Kp Optimum Friability: 0.480 % Optimum Disintegration Time: 0.15 (time/ decimal mins) Thus by the help of the figure 4.8 and 4.9 it can be clearly seen that tablets produced by direct compression show lower optimum hardness, lower value for friability and lower value for disintegration time. Wet massing on the other hand results in tablets formed with high optimum hardness value, high friability value and high disintegration time. It is also worth mentioning at this stage that direct compression process required DC lactose and calcium phosphate of higher grades (Direct compression formulations require good flow in order to maintain proper weight uniformity) whereas low grade regular lactose and calcium phosphate were used for wet massing (during wet massing low grade excipients were used however the granules produced could have been affected by sieving) With regards to wet massing, it is generally agreed that there will exist an optimum range of granule sizes for a particular formulation, and therefore certain generalizations are worthy to note here. Within limits, smaller granules will lead to higher and more uniform tablet weight and higher tablet crushing strength, with subsequent longer disintegration time and reduced friability. The strength of granules has also been shown to influence the tensile strength of the tablets prepared from them, with stronger granules leading, in general to harder tablets (Marinelli, 2009). Conclusion: Fianlly to sum up everything, it was seen in this lab that all the set of tablets produced (hard, soft medium) via different processes or by different excipients or binders , all of them passed the uniformity of weight test. Concerning binders, in this lab PVP seem to stand superior to Klucel (however this might not always be the case). Regarding excipients both lactose and calcium phosphate could be used. As , calcium phosphate has higher density, hence higher compressibility. Therefore in such a case low compression weight would be required to produce hard tablets with less friability. Whereas in case of lactose it has lower tapped density hence poor compressibility. This suggests that at lower pressures it will be elastic and therefore a higher compression weight will be required to produce hard tablets with lesser/lower friability. Lastly , both DC and wet massing were used to produce tablets however tablets produced by DC had shorter disintegration time in compariso n to those produced by wet massing.