The Evolution of Modern Humans - 2725 Words

While time travel still remains elusive to us, scientists have been able to discover things about our past as a species that were practically inconceivable over 150 years ago when Charles Darwin released his book entitled The Origin of Species. They have especially uncovered many pieces to our still incomplete puzzle over the past 20 years so that we now have a nearly complete idea of how our species Homo sapiens came to be. This story of our history includes dozens of species’ and hundreds of fossils and bones, yet fairly few complete or even partial skeletons. Hominids have gone through many changes to get from one of our earliest species’ Ardipithecus ramidus to Homo sapiens which scientists have been able to discover†¦show more content†¦The lower part, where it meets the ankle, is fairly wide and thick so it acted as a â€Å"shock absorber† whilst walking. Members of the Australopithecus anamensis species also had long forearms and wrist bone featu res which suggest tree climbing. They were thickly-built with long narrow jaws. Their side rows of teeth were in parallel lines and were heavily enameled which entails that they ate hard, abrasive foods such as nuts, but researchers also believe that they also ate fruits. These hominids were possibly the size of modern female chimpanzees and there is evidence of sexual dimorphism. (Leakey et al, 1995; White et al, 2006) Discovered in 1974, Australopithecus afarensis is one of the most famous early hominids and they are the direct descendants of Australopithecus anamensis. Australopithecus afarensis as a species was not named until 1978, after many fossil discoveries of the same type were found at sites in Hadar, Ethiopia and Laetoli, Tanzania. Some of the fossils categorized as a part of this species were found as early as in the 1930’s. They were around for more than 900,000 years which makes them the longest lived species and there are over 300 sets of remains of Australopi thecus afarensis. One of the most famous hominid skeletons is 3.2 million year old â€Å"Lucy† (AL 288-1), discovered by Donald Johanson and Maurice Taieb in Hadar, Ethiopia in 1974. She was nicknamed the night she was discoveredShow MoreRelatedThe Evolution Of Modern Humans952 Words   |  4 PagesWhen we think about the evolution of modern humans we think about two basic theories. The first theory is the â€Å"Multiregional Variation theory which is the different human populations or cultures had independent origins and are evolved in isolation from one another. The second theory is the â€Å"Out of Africa â€Å"theory. This theory is basically when humans evolved in Africa between 200,000 and 100,000 years ago. After these humans evolved they left Africa after evolving. Both of these theories both supportRead MoreEvolution Of The Modern Day Human Essay1845 Words   |  8 PagesThe modern day human has not existed for very long, in fact its one of the recent species to populate the Earth. Before modern day humans or Homo sapiens sapiens as we are scientifically known as, existed a similar yet less developed Homo genus named Homo erectus/ Homo ergaster. Evidence of these species dates back to over 1.9 million years ago and up to as recently as 70,000 years ago in which the evidence can be found in Africa, Europe and Asia. In this essay I will firstly provide a general timelineRead MoreHuman Evolution Affected By Hybridization Of Modern Humans And Similar Human Species930 Words   |  4 Pages Human Evolution Affected by Hybridization of Modern Humans and Similar Human Species The evolution of humans is known to be very complex and recently scientists have been discovering just how complex through molecular data. Learning that the vertebrate eye took 400,000 generations to evolve sparked my interest in understanding human evolution. A recent article on BBC claims that at one point in the timeline of human evolution, the species Homo sapiens, which is the modern human species, interbredRead MoreThe Theory Of Evolution Of Human History And Modern Thinking2012 Words   |  9 PagesSince the dawn of time, the theory of evolution has played an important role in the process of understanding human history and modern thinking. However, this theory didn’t always have an explicit term to clarify its meaning. Philosophers embraced the ideals of knowledge and enlightenment of reason—searching for answers as to better understand the origins of mankind and how it attributes to what it means to be human. Alongside social progress and intellectual developme nt, fascinating new discoveriesRead MoreHuman Evolution Myth or Fact1313 Words   |  6 PagesThe debate of human evolution being fact or fiction has been around for hundreds of years. Evidence of human ancestry has been found in many parts of the world and these fossils found have been proven to be human. The parts of the world include Eurasia and Africa. Although fossils are found in Eurasia, the human ancestor the Hominoidea has been traced back to the Miocene epochs, which were 23 to 5 million years ago. The Hominoidea is a super-family, which contains many species that are existent todayRead MoreEssay on The History of Human Evolution1517 Words   |  7 PagesThe History of Human Evolution By definition, human evolution is the development, both biological and cultural, of humans. Human ideologies of how the evolution of man came to be is determined by cultural beliefs that have been adopted by societies going back as far as the Upper Paleolithic era, some 40,000 years ago. Through the study of paleoanthropology, we have come to determine that a human is any member belonging to the species of Homo Sapiens. Paleoanthropologists, while studyingRead MoreHuman Evolution: Myth or Fact1301 Words   |  6 PagesThe debate of human evolution being fact or fiction has been around for hundreds of years. Evidence of human ancestry has been found in many parts of the world and these fossils found have been proven to be human. The parts of the world include Eurasia and Africa. Although fossils are found in Eurasia, the human ancestor the Hominoidea has been traced back to the Miocene epochs, which were 23 to 5 million years ago. The Hominoidea is a super-family, which contain s many species that are existent todayRead More Multi-regional Continuity: The Fossil Evidence Essay1099 Words   |  5 Pagesmulti-regional continuity model of human evolution, there is without a doubt a preponderance of fossil data that supports the diverse origins of Homo sapiens in different regions of the globe. Skulls displaying a wide variety of mixed modern and archaic features have been found in every corner of the world. The mere existence of these fossils is evidence enough to prove that human evolution was far less cut-and-dried a process than the advocates of the replacement model of human evolution would like to suggestRead MoreAre Humans Still Evolving?1556 Words   |  7 PagesAbstract evolution has occurred in humans for millions of years; however, in a modern society many scientists and evolutionists are now debating whether or not it is still occurring, and if it follows the same rules. With all of the new technology humans have created, some experts believe tha t humans have essentially conquered nature, and no further evolutionary changes will occur. Still, others hold opposing views; some experts believe that evolution is still occurring, but modern societal advancementsRead MoreEssay on human evolution1305 Words   |  6 Pagesunderstanding human evolution and the history of psychology for the modern psychologist. For the human evolution, the essay will be addressing on how we and other species descended from our ancestors and how the different environment has helped to us to become more adaptable. Regarding the history of psychology, the essay will be discussing on how psychology branched off from the philosophy approach to become its own science. The essay will then go on discussing how the understanding of both human evolution

The Economics Of Intellectual Property Protection

have been arranged in the course of the most recent 100 years. These settlements are regulated by a specific office of the United Nations the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). They normally require their signatories to take after national treatment in the insurance of IPRs (equivalent treatment of nationals and non-nationals) and encourage the enlistment of licensed innovation titles in remote purviews. The economics of intellectual property protection Why do governments stretch out lawful assurance to protected innovation? One can comprehensively group the different types of IPRs into two classifications: IPRs that fortify innovative and inventive exercises (licenses, utility models, mechanical outlines, copyright, plant†¦show more content†¦In the particular instance of data and learning, if makers of scholarly works can t ensure themselves against impersonation and replicating, they don t have a motivation to participate in imaginative or inventive exercises, as they can t recover any use acquired during the time spent making new data and information. Licenses and copyrights offer an answer around this situation, as they forestall free-riding on scholarly resources by outsiders and accordingly make a motivating force to put resources into innovative work (RD) and related exercises. Since the products of innovative and inventive exercises as new advances and new items push the efficiency boondocks of firms in an economy, licenses and related instruments are frequently seen as essential strategy apparatuses to advance monetary development. In the meantime, IPRs in this first class are considered as just second best instruments of monetary arrangement. This is on the grounds that the select privileges of licenses and copyrights present business sector power in the supply of the ensured great to the title holder, which represents an expense to society in that organizations can charge costs above minor generation costs. In principle, governments can alter the length and broadness of security, for example, to augment the net advantage that collects to society from new information and abstract

Ecommerce Business Free Essays

Introduction Developing an e-commerce business is a difficult process, that will test the determination and commitment of any person that has created a business in the past. I this paper will examine four different scenarios that one might be confronted with in owning an e-commerce business. The scenarios are as follow: * Imagine that someone has offered you $1,000 to buy your online domain name shortly after you started your business online. We will write a custom essay sample on Ecommerce Business or any similar topic only for you Order Now Explain why or why you would not sell and cite the ethical dilemmas involved. The e-commerce software you will be using must provide a catalog display, shopping cart capabilities, and transaction processing. The convenience and usability for the customer are benefits of these functions. State how each of these functions could be beneficial to your business. * Your business will have created a presence in the physical world by having a store along the boardwalk. Creating effective presence on the Web. Including how to improve Web presence by increasing website usability. Develop a web marketing strategy for your company including the following: identify the market segments you will target, how you will reach that segment, and explain how you will reach that segment, and explain how you will advertise on the Web. Being able to properly answer and respond to these scenarios, will assist people who wish to start an e-commerce business. Understanding these scenarios will assist in determ ining the market segments, as well has helping to understanding the worth of your business. Selling Your Domain Name Several things must be considered when a business is thinking of selling their domain name to someone else. In business, one is continuously working to convince others to do your bidding. The goal of a business is to convince customers to purchase your product or service, and then convince those same customers to pay their accounts on time. As it pertains to the employees that work at your business, they must treat the customers well and contribute to the company. They must abide by all ethical and moral standards that the business has put in place. By setting forth a great deal of effort to create and develop my business, it is not likely that I will sell my business for $1,000. By selling the domain name of my business, all the work that I have done to make my company relevant and credible would be in jeopardy. Most successful companies are known by their domain name or their brand, and it takes hard work and determination to accomplish the task of making your domain name credible. Customer Convenience The e-commerce business that I create will attempt to make the shopping and visit to my business website as convenient as possible for my potential customers. This will be accomplished by providing three services that all e-commerce businesses must have in order to be successful: shopping catalog display, shopping car capabilities, and a simple transaction process. The shopping catalog display must be able to store information about items in a database. My e-commerce business will also provide a search engine that allows customers to enter descriptions to quickly find the items they wish to purchase or find information about. The shopping cart capabilities will use online forms to document online shopping in the past, and it will be able to distinguish from one customer to another. I would also create a database that will store information about the clients preferred choices. I will use software that will calculate price, volume discounts, sales tax, and shopping cost. Electronic commerce software will be used to provide connections to accounting software so the sales of the web can be entered simultaneously. All of these different service that I will incorporate will allow the customers a simple and convenient way to purchase our goods and services, as well as find out as much information as possible about our goods and services. Boardwalk Store When creating a physical store on the boardwalk I will attempt to maintain my presence of the Web. In order to accomplish this I will have to implement two things to achieve this success. First of all, I would use an e-mail address to identify users. This is because e-mail addresses are easier to remember and are more standard, as well as being unique. Second, I will attempt to create a system to make ordering easy. This process could be quite complex, so I would make this process easier at each step. This can be accomplished by having the customer enter the least amount of information at each step. This can make the experience of purchasing our product and visiting our website simple on every level. Marketing Strategies When marketing on the Web, a business must completely understand the different segments that they must market their products and services. The different segmentations are as follow: behavioral, demographic, geographic, and psychographic. The behavioral segmentation consist of dividing people into groups according to how they behave and act toward products. I would create a website that gives examples on encouraging consumers to use my products for multiple purposes. The demographic segmentation obtains demographic information from the U. S. Census Bureau’s website. The site would discuss some prominent demographic characteristics used to segment buyers. This includes age, income, gender, and family life cycles. Geographic segmentation is when a market strategy that allows businesses to market by the geographic in which a customer’s live. Psychographic segmentation gathers extensive information of the customers activities, interests, opinions, values, and lifestyles. I would use the VAL survey( values, attitudes, and lifestyles) to find out what category each individual is apart . This will allow me to market according to their psychological makeup, which will give me the ability to better market my product. Marketing is an essential part of the success or failure of any business, owners should not take this aspect of the business lightly. Conclusion In my opinion, understanding all of these aspects of business will allow a person who is attempting to start an online business successful. The marketing and convenience aspect of business is key is maintain and sustaining a successful business. Having a full understanding of the Web as it pertains to business, as well as knowing the importance of what goes in to making your domain name credible is also an essential part of business. References Keys to Improving your Web Presence (2011) Retrieved from http://www. ocularconcepts. us/blc/blog/keys-to-improving-your-web-presence/ Lars, Perner (n. d. ) Introduction to Marketing. Retrieved from http://www. consumerpsychologist. com/marketing_introduction. html Schneider, G. (2011). Electronic commerce: 2011 custom edition (9th ed. ). Mason, OH: Cengage Learning. How to cite Ecommerce Business, Papers

Lessons In A New Light free essay sample

Hard work played as my life style to prepare myself for this particular season. Sweat constantly dripped off my face as my feet under me moved swiftly across the smooth wooden court. With my eyes on the prize, nothing could stop me. The beast inside me had been trapped for too long and it was only a matter of time before it broke free. Every shot I took longed for perfection as my arm stretched out with finger tips down. Success filled my lungs whenever I struggled to breathe while working towards my goal. All I could think about was how great the feeling would be when I finally get to prove myself to someone who looks down upon me. Sacrificing my time, effort, and life to get better at the game I love meant to put aside pride and fear as well as doubt. My love for the game of basketball as overwhelmed me with passion that roars like sea during a storm. We will write a custom essay sample on Lessons In A New Light or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Little details of the game on and off the court are what I fall in love with every moment I get to play. The roundness of the ball that symbolizes no end and all the tiny little bumps that my fingers gently slide against while touching the ball sends chills down my spine. The fast pace of the game skyrockets my adrenaline every second the clock strikes down. As I am in the zone yet surrounded by the many noises coming from crowd, a type of peace releases within me and throughout my mind; I was simply calming the storm with the thought of winning. Opportunities are never delivered as a gift, they are taken. I knew it was my time to steal an opportunity that had been taunting me for years. I was finally ready for this basketball season to start. Unfortunately, all of the sudden my dreams of becoming the best I could be shattered in a matter of one night. I woke up from my sleep with a sore throat that made it very difficult to breathe. My heart dropped down into my rib cage whenever I looked into the mirror and saw white spots on the back of the throat that had grown overnight. Although my symptoms of exhaustion and weakness stung throughout my body, my mind was determined to stay on the court no matter what circumstance came across my path. My mother ended up taking me to the doctor and tested me for strep and mono. When the doctor walked back in the cold bright room with an unpleasant look on her face, I knew something was wrong. I had come down with the case mono. At first I thought it was no big deal and I would surely recover in no time, but that was not the case. This sickness caused my body to slowly shut down by draining out every ounce of energy I had left inside me. This was only the beginning to a long journey. Fighting with all the power I had left, I made my recovery time faster so that I could play again. I missed quite a few games and practices during that time but I never lost sight of the prize I strived for. Every day I gained back my strength and energy to preform to my advantage. Although my mindset had been to defeat my opponents and serve my teammates as an example on the court, my role for that season became to be a leader off the court. What I did not realize was that I would never step back on that court as a threat for the rest of the season. For my authority to give up on me and make me watch as all my other teammates get to play changed my way of thinking. I fell into depression because I could not express the passion I had for the game that I love. All my hard work and effort now became a waste of time. Once I faced the reality that stabbed me in the back, I learn many different lessons on how to become a warrior off the court. I developed good sportsmanship habits and ta ught myself how to encourage my teammates. I fell in love with game all over again because I got to see it from a different perspective. My path to victory after all my hard work had collided and swerved into a new path leading to self-respect and more motivation to become great. Even though no one else believed in me, I knew that I had to make a choice to believe in myself and keep striving for the prize. Bridges were burned but in the end, lessons were learned. No matter what obstacles I faced, I kept in mind that faith was the only way leading to victory.

32 Interesting Facts About Princess Diana

32 Interesting Facts About Princess Diana Diana was popularly called Princess Diana, but this is not her proper title. Before marriage, and after her father became Earl, she was Lady Diana. After marriage, she was Diana, Princess of Wales. She was permitted to keep that title, though not Her Royal Highness, after her divorce from Prince Charles. Lady Diana had an aristocratic upbringing in England and quickly became an adored member of the British royal family. Her passions included interest in music, dance, and children. Diana passed away in a tragic car crash in 1997 while visiting Paris, during an escape from the paparazzi, where it was soon discovered that the driver of her taxi was under the influence of alcohol. 32 Interesting Facts About Princess Diana Diana, Princess of Wales, was 510 tall.Diana was a commoner and not royal at her marriage. She was, however, part of the British aristocracy, descended from King Charles II.Dianas traces her lineage to King Charles II through her father. Diana was related to Winston Churchill and 10 U.S. presidents: George Washington, John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Calvin Coolidge, Millard Fillmore, Rutherford B. Hayes, Grover Cleveland, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and both Bush presidents.  She was also related to the actor Humphrey Bogart.Her stepmother was the daughter of famous romance novelist Barbara Cartland.She grew up with two sisters and two brothers.  The siblings were close in childhood.Charles dated one of Dianas older sisters before he dated Diana.Diana won an award at school for taking good care of her guinea pig.At school, she was talented in music and especially on the piano.After graduation, she took a course in cooking on the advice of her mother.Queen Elizabeth II is the godmotherà ‚  of Dianas brother. Four of Dianas ancestors were mistresses to British kings.Diana was the first British citizen to marry an heir to the British throne since 1659 when the future James II married Anne Hyde. Queen Elizabeth IIs mother was a British citizen, but when she married the future King George VI, he was not the heir apparent to the throne; his brother was.Prince Charles proposed at Buckingham Palace on February 3, 1981.At the time of her engagement, Diana was working in a preschool playgroup as an assistant.Dianas ring, with 14 solitaire diamonds and a 12-carat sapphire, is worn today by her sons wife, Kate Middleton.Diana was 12 years younger than Charles.Her wedding had a television audience of 750 million.Diana met several times with Mother Teresa, including in the Bronx, New York, in June of 1997. Ironically, Mother Teresas death on September 6, 1997, was practically eclipsed by the news surrounding Dianas funeral. Diana was buried with a set of rosary beads given to her by Mother Teresa. Prince Charles 1994 television interview with Jonathan Dimbleby drew a British audience of 14 million viewers. Dianas 1994 television interview on BBC drew 21 million viewers.Dianas tragic death has been compared to that of Marilyn Monroe and Princess Grace of Monaco. Diana attended Princess Graces funeral as her first official state visit abroad. Elton John adapted his tribute to Marilyn Monroe, Candle in the Wind, for Dianas funeral, and recorded the new version to raise money for causes Diana had supported.Some 2.5 billion people around the world saw at least some part of her funeral via television or in person.Her grave is on an island in an ornamental lake on her familys estate, Althorp Park. The site is surrounded with four black swans guarding the tomb and oak trees numbering 36, for the years of her life, are on the path to the grave.$150 million in donations were received in the week following the creation of the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund right after her death. This fund continues to support many causes that were important to her during her lifetime. Among many charities supported by Princess Diana was the International Campaign to Ban Landmines. This effort won a Nobel Peace Prize a few months after her death.Another issue important to Diana was HIV/AIDS. She worked to end the stigma against people with the illness and for equality and compassion for those affected.In 1977, Diana taught Charles to tap-dance. They did not start dating until 1980.While Charles loved polo and horses, Diana had little interest in horses after a fall from a horse. However, she developed an interest in her riding instructor, Major James Hewitt.In a 1995 BBC interview, during her separation from Charles and before their divorce, she admitted that she had committed adultery during her marriage.  This was after it was revealed that Charles had had an affair.Her autobiography details mental health issues including eating disorders and suicide attempts.Her divorce settlement included a lump sum of $22.5 million and an annual income of $600,000 per year t o continue funding her office. Diana was on the cover of Time magazine eight times, Newsweek seven times, and People magazine more than 50 times. When she was on the cover of a magazine, sales soared.Camilla Parker-Bowles, after her marriage to Prince Charles, could have used the title Princess of Wales but chose to use Duchess of Cornwall instead, deferring to the public association of the former title with Diana.

responsibility for the knower Essays

Does making a knowledge claim carry any particular obligation/responsibility for the knower Essays Does making a knowledge claim carry any particular obligation/responsibility for the knower Paper Does making a knowledge claim carry any particular obligation/responsibility for the knower Paper Essay Topic: Claim Of Value Education Anybody who makes a knowledge claim must take responsibility for their claim, particularly if they are parents, teachers or a respected individual in society. Parents are largely responsible for early childhood learning, teachers are responsible for late childhood and adolescent learning, and leaders affect adult attitudes. In growing up, children are greatly influenced by their parents or guardian because they are the first people from what they gain knowledge from. Konrad Lorenzs study with young ducklings suggested a critical learning period in which knowledge is most readily obtained. Many types of knowledge are acquired during childhood, notably ethics and values, which will undoubtedly affect the childs perception and development in the future. Limited knowledge from other types of areas is also acquired during early childhood, and forms the roots of subsequent learning. If a teacher claims that subtraction is the same as addition, then all the students will undoubtedly experience difficulty in future studies. Therefore, any knowledge claim made to a child necessarily has a profound impact on their understanding of the world and those who make the claims must take responsibility. The majority of our learning takes place in educational institutions and our knowledge is acquired from teachers. Teachers are also highly respected and their knowledge claims are therefore highly influential. Though in certain subject areas, knowledge can be attained through logic and reason (such as mathematics), other subject areas can not. In history and biology, for example, the student depends on the teachers accountability. Students lack the incentive to verify every knowledge claim and will not question the teachers stance on the polarity of water or the Austrian heir to the throne. A teachers false claim will have serious consequences and teachers should therefore take responsibility for their claims. Education systems today rely heavily on language, as opposed to hands-on or visual demonstrations. Whorf and Sapirs theory of Linguistic Determinism states that knowledge is determined by language. For example, Navajos have precise words for different shape and consequently, they have a stronger sense of shape. Similarly, the diction of a teachers knowledge claim will have serious implications on the students learning. Austen uses their conversation to criticize Mariannes impulsiveness would have a very different impression on students as opposed to Austen hated impulsive people. Therefore, teachers must take responsibility for the diction of their knowledge claims. Learning is generally thought of as limited to educational institutions, but much learning takes place in adulthood as well. Esteemed individuals in society often have the power to influence the general public and any knowledge claims they make will be influential. In Europe, Hitlers numerous claims concerning Germanys superiority aroused millions to support him. The destruction and causality that his knowledge claims directly or indirectly caused in World War II are horrendous and indisputable. In China, Chairman Maos knowledge claims brainwashed millions of young Chinese to join the Red Army. Consequences of Maos knowledge claims during the Cultural Revolution are also apparent. Both Hitler and Mao were highly influential leaders who are responsible for their knowledge claims. Hence, leaders should take precaution in their knowledge claims and statements for they are responsible for their claims. Naturally, knowledge claims of leaders can be beneficial to vast populations, and leaders can treat their responsibility as an opportunity positively influence people rather than a burden. The consequences and implications of knowledge claims are indisputable, and therefore the people whom make knowledge claims should take responsibility for them. Since learning takes place throughout our lives, the people who teach us in all stages should take responsibility for their knowledge claims. Though parents, teachers, and respected individuals are heavily liable for their claims, they are not the only ones who must take the burden. Every person we interact with will influence us, and therefore, all knowledge claims must be taken responsibility for by the knower.

Anxiety Disorders #2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Anxiety Disorders #2 - Essay Example carring or acne problems, in the nose in terms of size and shape of nose, in the hair as a thinning or balding hair and in the genitals as the size and shape of the sex organ. Although researchers believe that the causes of body dysmorphic disorder may be ‘multifactorial’ in nature – genetically, psychologically, or socially derived they are uncertain of the specific cause of this disorder (Phillips and Castle 2001).However, it is believed that the public’s preoccupation with body image may be directly related to the onset of this psychiatric disorder. The media’s insistence on displaying their version of a beautiful man or woman is influencing simple individuals’ views of themselves. Due to the media’s appeal, society in general may put pressure on men and women alike to present themselves in light of the media’s preferences. In men, in particular, there is the preoccupation with muscle which may lead to muscle dysmorphia – an anxiety which comes from the belief that ‘one’s body is too small’ or insufficiently brawny (Phillips and Castle 2001). The most effective treatments for BDD are medication and cognitive behavior therapy. Serotonin reuptake inhibitors used to aid those who are depressed is intensified in dosage and duration for individuals suffering with BDD. Cognitive behavioral therapy allows individuals to gain a more pragmatic analysis of their body image. Therefore, individuals who may have been obsessed with a tiny spot on the skin may be able through various cognitive behavioral techniques to accept the tiny spot as an imperfection which is not a definition of the individual’s appearance and in time learn to cope with the minute speck in relation to rest of the perfect skin. Further, patients may develop more realistic views of their appearance and resist the urge to perform repetitive behaviors such as a constant checking of self in the mirror or regular comparison of self to others. What is more cognitive behavior

Artical about education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Artical about education - Essay Example The author pinpoints the basis of the Education National Key Result Areas which are abbreviated as NKRAs. The government has decided for its own self four sub-areas which would meet the national educational objectives so that there is a complete guarantee of strong and competitive workforce, which is maintained at all times. The article lists down how the preschoolers’ enrolment has been increased drastically and how government is playing its proactive role at leveling up the Year One children which have slow learning attributes within them in an apparent manner (Kamini, 2011). The national preschool committee is also one of the initiatives that the NKRA has undertook which basically harmonizes the quality that is present between the public and private preschools present within Malaysia. The role of the Malaysian government has been highlighted to a good enough extent and all out possibilities within its folds are talked about at great length. The different training programs h ave also been mentioned and the incentives and subsidies are also noted upon within the realms of the article. Works Cited Kamini, R. S. Going all out for Children.

History of the Cold War Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

History of the Cold War - Research Paper Example The Soviet power was never able to expand much under the influence of the U.S agenda. It was under the leadership of Mikhail Gorbachev that Russia began to undergo a political change which could not be handled and thus led to a political turmoil. The United States itself did not play a direct role in the collapse of Soviet Union but it did play an indirect role in the collapse. This essay would further analyze different events which led to the occurrence of cold war (Leffle & Westad, 2010). After the World War II it was seen that the United States and Russia underwent a competition in the field of economics, race and politics to gain superiority in the world. The Cold War for Soviet Union was to take control of the communist nations under their policy whereas the United States had the aim of removal of communism from the world. The relationship of the Soviet Union and America was never to the par as the communist nation was an ally of the Germans before it attacked them. Communism wa s prevalent in the Soviet Union since its birth under the leadership of Lenin. This was followed by the rule of Joseph Stalin who further enforced communism over the states that fell under the jurisdiction of the Union. It was then that anti communist policies started to escalate in the United States creating hate amongst the masses. Yalta Conference which took place in February 1945 was start of rough relations between the two superpowers of the world. The American President at that time was Truman who was strictly against the communists and this led to the worsening of bilateral relations between the two countries. The invention of atom bomb and the use of it in the World War II created fears for the Russian government which further led to the Cold War (Painter 2002). After the victory in World War II events followed which led to the Cold War among the superpowers. The Iron Curtain Speech was delivered by Winston Churchill on March 5 1946. He urged the United States for a coalitio n against the union because of their policies against the democracy of the world. He stated that â€Å"From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic an iron curtain has descended across the Continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals of the States.... and all are subject in form or another, not only to Soviet influence, but to a very high and increasing measure of control from Moscow† (4 Gottfried). In 1946 it was found that Soviet spies were in America looking for information regarding the atomic bomb. Moreover an agreement was violated by the Soviet Union when they did not withdraw their troops from Iran because of its resources of oil. Instead a region of Iran was annexed by the Soviet Union which later came to be known as the Soviet Socialist Republic of Azerbaijan (Leffle & Westad, 2010). In the latter part of the 1950s it was seen that the Russian President got even more furious at the actions of the United States. After the World War II it was seen that se veral of the nations faced the problem of famine. It was here that the United States launched a plan known as the Marshall Plan to provide the famine struck places with food and other supplies. The foreign ministry of the Soviet Union replied to the Marshall plan in a negative manner stating it as an act sought to infiltrate the

Analysis On Jit Sourcing Strategy Information Technology Essay

Analysis On Jit Sourcing Strategy Information Technology Essay Outsourcing problems are very complex where even a small decision when taken wrongly can lead to unpredictable risks. From JITs outsourcing experience, the following questions should be considered in order to analyse the case. How to strategically select the appropriate activities that can be outsourced or be maintained internally? How to identify the relative risks and benefits of outsourcing the selected activities? (Quinn, J. B. Hilmer, F. G., 1995). It has been identified that most managers do not consider the risk factors into account while giving importance only to the costs and benefits of outsourcing and offshoring. Many IT jobs outsourced offshore are help desk jobs. People who hold such jobs typically do not have computing discipline degrees. Murphy and Chabrow (2003) argue that the IT jobs outsourced offshore were the routine, repetitive, and largely uninteresting ones. They are well trained and well versed in the product that they are supporting but in-depth questions regarding the internal workings of the product usually require that a person with a computing discipline degree be summoned to assist. (Antonio M. Lopez, Jr., 2004). Similar to many other outsourcing projects, the key reason for failure in JIT outsourcing activity is poor management and governance. In order to identify the root cause for this failure, we need to frame the key stages of the outsourcing cycle followed by JIT. Based on the success of Corporate Intranet, selective sourcing was decided. Also, it should be noted that corporate Intranet did not involve any vendor employees and was only purchased and handled completely by the JIT. IT outsourcing problems usually happen at the contract and post-contract stages (Alborz et al.s 2003), where how to negotiate and come out with a sound contract, how to manage the contract, and how to build up and maintain a good relationship become the most critical issues IT executives need to face. Managers have to carefully select which IT activities to outsource. John Smith in JIT had an uncertainty about the IT departments value. In order to resolve the internal Infrastructure department issue, some of the IT activities had been selectively outsourced without a proper strategy. An increased IT costs and poor service level in vendors has been mainly due to ill-defined relational contracts and non-flexibility in adapting to both business and technical changes. Thus, many IT activities like JIT did should have remained in-house, but instead were handed over to the vendors.( Lacity, M. C. Willcocks, L. P. Feeny, D. F., 1996). The IT outsourcing lifecycle suggested by (Sparrow E., 2003) can be used to identify the outsourcing process implemented in the IT department of JIT. Initiation Vendor Selection Contract Negotiation Transition Service Delivery (Continuous) Contract Renewal/Termination Pre Execution Execution Time In the Initiation stage, the plan was to outsource the Datacentre management and PC help desk activities to outsourced vendor in order to give provision and for the IT infrastructure group employees to concentrate completely on the enhancement and up gradation of projects within that division. The main motive of outsourcing is generally cost cutting or for maintaining the legacy systems. However, it is required that whatever outsourcing option a company adopts, there is always a need for a capable IS managers to manage the IT operations effectively. It is just not enough to just outsource the work. A companys IT managers should also know how to manage contracts and relationships with third parties. The main motives for JIT outsourcing of Datacentre and PC helpdesk were to reduce IT Infrastructure cost, Improve service quality in PC helpdesk and resolve employee retention in the IT infrastructure section. The IT employees were highly qualified and disliked to work on PC helpdesk. There was employee retention in the infrastructure section. The IT employees spent more time on day-to-day maintenance activities due to which they had no time to enhance the existing projects or innovate new ideas for a competitive advantage over other firms. A study found that only 54% of the agreements realized expected cost savings (Lacity and Willcocks 1998). More recently, a Gartner Dataquest Report claimed that about one of every three outsourcing contracts targeting cost reductions failed to match expectations (Caldwell 2002b; Caldwell 2002a).It should also be noted that, when a company outsources its IT services to a third party vendor, how can it be sure that the vendors skills would be updated? Moreover, in JITs case, cost reduction has been the major concern to decide the outsourcing. Therefore, it cannot expect the vendors CMPI to be updated on technical capabilities and process management. (Earl, M. J., 1996). In the Vendor Selection, JIT finalized with two vendors for each outsourcing projects. The vendor was mainly selected based on the cost/benefit analysis, expertise level. The Datacentre activities in JIT did not face any cross-cultural issues. However, the PC Helpdesk activity required that the staff should know Japanese language as well, in order to support the rotational staffs. Hence, it is essential that the outsourcing firm should be able to understand and manage the cross-cultural differences. (I Oshri, J Kotlarsky, LP Willcocks, 2009). Among the two vendors that JIT finalised for PC helpdesk outsourcing, CMPI was not an experienced company in handling this, whereas, Outsourcing Solutions had proposed a unique business model to provide technicians in four different levels covering all aspects including the cross-cultural differences in JIT. The proposal of Outsourcing Solutions had to be compromised considering just the cost factor. The third stage is the Contract Negotiation. In this, JIT had a Service level agreement with both the vendors for a one year contract. Willcocks and Kern (2000) suggest that strategic intent as well as technical capability shape both contract structure and interpersonal relationship development. In JITs case, the strategic intent and technical capability of DR solutions was strong. But, it was not the same with CMPI. Thus, it resulted in a very poor interpersonal relationship. Thus, a relationship that aims to tap into the technical leadership capabilities of a vendor to achieve IT efficiency may generate higher value if it is run as a partnership; whereas, one that aims to achieve IT efficiency by tapping into a vendors widely available resource pool, may be better managed as a technical supply pay-per-service relationship. In the transition stage, both the datacentre and helpdesk activities were moved to DR Solutions and CMPI vendor appropriately. The IT manager John Smith did not have a clear cut plan with the outsourcing vendors .Immediately after the contract begun; there was not much of monitoring or management of IT operations. (Earl, M. J., 1996). Because of this, it is also likely that the company might have to some of its crucial competencies or capabilities. In JITs aspect, there has been value capture of the outsourcing companies but no value creation. Moving the Datacentre from JIT to DR Solutions was not efficient in terms of preplanning. Although JIT had involved 5 different specialists for the deployment, there was no one to actually monitor the process. Moreover, it was not an appropriate time to relocate the Datacentre to the DR Solutions. In the Service delivery stage, although Datacentre activities was a success, the CMPI employees allocated for PC helpdesk did not possess enough troubleshooting skills right from the beginning, in order to manage the escalation calls they received. They could handle only the quick fixes. They also were reluctant to handle the calls from Japanese executives which clearly convey that, CMPI employees were not well versed in Japanese language. This is another major drawback in CMPIs business model. Governance is considered not just in terms of pre-specified frameworks for a formal relationship, but that emerge in interactions between client and provider (Mintzberg, 1978). It involves both the client as well as the vendor. The MOG model addresses the question of how a companys governance affects the outcome of outsourcing in terms of Value Capture and Value Creation. .(Moments of Governance in IS outsourcing: conceptualizing effects of contracts on value capture and creation). Having char ged $180/per user/month, the employees felt that they were not receiving a quality service from the PC helpdesk. Thus, John smith decided to improve the quality of service by outsourcing to CMPI and also increasing the user charge $200/month. This did not bring any change in the quality of service. This in turn has increased the expenditure in the Infrastructure division of JIT. Also, there was also a need for expense reduction. Even before finalising the contract with CMPI, John smith had the doubt whether the employees from CMPI would be able to handle the numerous numbers of calls received by JIT per day. In order to identify the core capabilities of the outsourcing suppliers, the framework proposed by (Feeny, Lacity and Willcocks,2005) can be applied. In this framework, the capabilities of the outsourcing suppliers have been rated based on their Delivery, Relationship and Transformation Competency. Based on the given information, Compared to the Outsourcing Solutions vendor, CMPI had lacked in the leadership, as CMPI had less experience in providing IT services. It had provided services only to 20 companies. Whereas the Outsourcing Solutions vendor had the credit of providing services to Fortune 500 companies. Considering the technical expertise level, CMPI had highly skilled technicians. However, they did not follow any specific business model to implement the helpdesk activities. Whereas, Outsourcing solutions had proposed with a specific business plan with 4 PC helpdesk technicians of 3 different levels for JIT. Also the technicians had excellent resumes and references with them. Also, CMPI were not willing to give an upper limit on the amount of time its employees would take to resolve an escalated call. This information was very unclear when compared to Outsourced solutions. While the Relationship and transformation competency of Outsourced Solutions is much better when compared to CMPI, the cost has been very high. This forced JIT to choose CMPI.(I Oshri, J Kotlarsky, LP Willcocks, 2009).If a company decides to outsource IT services just focusing on costs; It is assuming that its directions and necessities are clear. (Earl, M. J., 1996). Key Problems with JITs Sourcing Strategy: JIT was focusing more on cost cutting instead of the quality of the service provided by the vendors. This is because, although the vendors CMPI chosen for PC helpdesk activities were not expensive, they did not have as much of experience as the other vendor Outsourced Solutions. The existing IT division employees at JIT felt that PC help desk Job was not a very productive and was not improving their career as all these employees felt they were overqualified to perform the mundane job. Moreover, as they were spending most of their work hours on maintenance and PC problems, they were unable to concentrate on upgrading or enhancing the existing projects. This eventually started demotivating them. There was poor governance and Management right from the beginning of the outsourcing contracts initiation. The Service Level agreement was not made clear during the initial contract with CMPI. There have been poor contract and relationship issues. According to Deming (1986), a poor communication or a poor coordination between the vendor and the client is mainly due to poor vendor performance. Some of the anticipated benefits of outsourcing such as cost reduction, expanded, updated skills from vendors and increased flexibility often failed to materialize. (An enterprise perspective of Software Offshoring).Most companies that are outsourcing IT for the first time are not aware of the hidden costs that might start occurring post contract. These may arise as a result of insufficient planning or an unexpected turn of events. (Daniel C. M. Tan, 2009). The IT director John Smith, who was solely responsible for both the outsourcing projects, did not actually investigate deep into similar outsourcing cases. Based on just the Corporate Intranet outsourcing that gave a success to JIT, he proceeded with this outsourcing decision. He did not give much interest for getting consulting, although he just got a suggestion from one of the known consultants. In Information technology, Customized services are generally not outsourced. As, Michael Cunningham (Ask IT Professional IT Advisory Services Company) Said to John Smith, IT outsourcing is significantly less mature than other outsourcing sectors. Before outsourcing the Datacentre and PC Helpdesk activities, the JIT Company had little knowledge on the Outsourcing strategies. From the clients perspective, IT outsourcing decision makers are usually short of experience to select and evaluate service providers and immature in negotiating contracts, managing contracts and maintaining good relatio nships with the providers.(Q.Cong, 2000). Recommendations for fixing helpdesk problems faced in 2002: Aron and Singh (2005) suggest that firms should base their outsourcing and offshoring decisions on the assessment of operational and structural risks. For activities that present high operational and structural risks (e.g. corporate planning), they recommend to execute in house and onshore. Activities that present moderate operational and structural risks (e.g. supply chain coordination) they suggest to outsource carefully, using extended organization offshore, and monitor closely in real time. Activities with low operational and structural risks (e.g. transaction processing) are suitable for outsourcing to offshore service providers. With the datacentre outsourcing, although there was a problem in the transition phase, it got resolved immediately due to the vendors dedication and strong relationship with JIT. However, there was no risk management planned for both the outsourcing. With the PC helpdesk outsourcing, rather than choosing the in-house facility, choosing the right vendor/vendors for outsourcing will always be cheaper and efficient for mundane IT tasks. According to Willcocks and Lacity, over 75% of organizations in the developed economies outsource 15%-50% of their IT budgets, typically with multiple suppliers. JIT can continue for the same SLA with CMPI. But, instead of re-negotiating the contract only with CMPI, it can also involve into a new contract with Outsourced Solutions. As Willcocks (2008) said, outsource only business and not your problems. Outsourcing should be viewed as an opportunity and not just as a cost cutting strategy. Hence, JIT should consider the quality, their experience and capability while choosing to outsource the tasks to vendor. As JIT is going to outsource a part of its helpdesk activities to the new vendor, the cost can be reduced. Also through the adoption of multi-vendor strategy, competition between two vendors result in the right pricing for the client and the quality of service will be improved. In order to resolve the PC helpdesk problem, my recommendation would be to continue with the existing vendor (CMPI) and shift some of the other helpdesk activities to a new vendor. In this case, the new vendor can be Outsourced Solutions, which means JIT can follow a multi-vendor Outsourcing Strategy. Or, JIT can cancel the contract with CMPI and choose Outsourced Solutions for better service. Benefits / risks of Single vendor Outsourcing strategy: By adopting a single vendor strategy that JIT already follows, it needs to track only a single implementation. Complexity of management will be much minimized. This is mainly adopted by clients to benefit from lower operational costs. Similarly, JIT also adopted the single vendor strategy only to lower its operational costs. But, cost should not be the only criteria. Vendor management, capability, and experience, of vendor should be given more importance. The client can expect the highest level of vendor capabilities through a well-planned Service Level Agreement. The risks could be poor quality of service by the vendor. There is also a possibility of too much dependency created on the vendor by the client. At the end, this can result in a situation for clients where they cannot move out of the vendor at their will. However, as JIT failed to follow this strategy efficiently, I would recommend that a multi vendor offshore outsourcing can be adopted by JIT to solve the issues faced in its Infrastructure section. Benefits /Risks of Multi-Vendor Outsourcing: As mentioned earlier, JIT did not follow a risk mitigation methodology while choosing the vendors for both the Datacentre and PC helpdesk activities. Thus when JIT outsources the PC help desk activities to CMPI as well as Outsourced Solutions, it can reduce the risk level because, even when CMPI does not provide a quality service, Outsourced Solutions will be there to backup. Working with multiple suppliers provides a strong element of power for a company for at least two reasons. First, if a supplier underperforms, it becomes easier to transfer the work to a supplier that is already executing the same processes. Second, working with multiple providers will generate a competitive climate among them that, if managed carefully, can become very beneficial for the customer, both in terms of the quality of service delivered and in terms of price. As there are two vendors (CMPI and Outsourced Solutions), there is increased domain and technical expertise. This will also enhance the service quality as each vendor will try to compete with the other vendor while providing its services. However, in multi-vendor outsourcing, the companies engage an array of vendors; the managers should be increasingly adept at managing the entire portfolio of vendors. Thus, John Smith should think beyond cost to ensure the success of the PC helpdesk outsourcing. (Lacity, M., Willcocks, L. and Feeny, D., 1996). Firstly, vendors familiarity with the business is most important. Although, CMPI was familiar with helpdesk activities, it was not aware of the actual activities happening in the Infrastructure section in JIT. (Kakabadse, A., and Kakabadse, N., 2000) Secondly, there should be good involvement from the JITs IT team to equally co-operate with the vendors employees. (Kreitner, R. and Kinicki, A., 2007).

Free Essays - Achieving Understanding in Amy Tans Joy Luck Club :: Joy Luck Club Essays

Achieving Understanding in Amy Tan's Joy Luck Club In Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club the daughters are too young and naive to understand their mothers and the hardship they faced. But by the end on the novel the daughters are able to understand where their mothers came from through stories and experiences the mothers tell the daughters their background. This shows that the daughters overall understood the mothers better because through time they were able to experience some of the same conflicts giving them a better understanding. While Jing-Mei Woo is only one of four young women whose stories integrate the novel, her story makes her seem to be the initial character, especially since her tale not only begins and ends the novel, but also strongly develops the theme and plot of the entire book. Her mother, Suyuan Woo was very concerned with people and things they lacked, "Something was always missing...always needed improvements...not in balance" (19). This reveals that Suyuan is lacking something herself and feels not good enough for her family. We later discover her past and the twin girls she left behind in China. This past life draws readers and makes the story more interesting but a little confusing at the same time. This past comes back to Jing-Mei when her mother dies and Jing-Mei begins to understand how hard it is to let go of the people you love, which makes her become more open, understanding and mature. She lost a mother she got to share her life with, but like her half sisters, they did n't understand their mother until she was gone to share the experience of being reunited. In a sense, her spirit was there to capture their happiness of finally meeting one another. Although Waverly Jong is perceived in being an intelligent, ambitious, proud, and arrogant, she is constantly struggling with everything that happens in her life. Her unwillingness to adapt to change becomes a major conflict. "Bite back your tongue"(89) her mother's harshness on her while growing up may have caused her lack of self-confidence foiled but assurance. Not only that caused her to resent her mother but the way she introduced her to perfect strangers, "This is my daughter Waver-ly Jong"(101) just to tell people or make reference to the TIME article on Waverly cause her to become upset.

America Involvement in WW1

Zieger, R (2001) brings out the American experiences in the Great War describing it as a Mr. Wilson war (p1). When the war broke out in Europe the American people wished for it to remain a European affair. They wanted to remain a neutral force supporting neither of the warring sides. This was the period in the United States history when the country was deeply embedded in the isolationism principles, when it came to this war they did not want to be dragged in the political affairs of Europe.Their main focus was economical; they just wanted to expand trade in different parts of the world. They felt that their involvement in the war would jeopardize their expansionist ambitions. They believed that the war would not last for long and the world would be in peace after a short while. In keeping with true neutrality spirit America had in the beginning refused to supply either side or extending any economic assistance to any of the nations involved in the warfare.The American pacifists thoug ht that the conflict would not extend to the other parts of Europe; it would just remain a German and French affair. They were of the view that though the war was not necessary, America interests were not threatened by the activities that were taking place in Europe. (Zieger, R 2001) The neutrality policy was tested when Germany issued threats that any ship approaching British zone would be sank. President Wilson warned Germany against such a threat, according to him they were to be held responsible for any American ship that would be attacked or sank.German use of boats which were known as the U boats posed real threat to the United States and perhaps was the reason why the country could not remain neutral anymore; they had to join the war to protect their interests. The announcement by German pertaining targeting all ships approaching Britain zone angered America prompting their reaction. This was heightened when one of the American ships by the name Lusitania was sank by the Germ an forces killing one hundred and eight Americans who were on board.Though this issue was resolved without attracting much conflict America was forced to adopt a new stand which was to go a long way in taming Germany which was threatening to tear the world apart with its domination ambitions. There are other factors that led to America move from the pacifist view and actively participate in this Great War. They felt that their interests as a country were threatened by Germany threats. The ultimate decision to join the war was reached by the congress when they got some information which indicated that Germany was intending to enter into an agreement with Mexico where the America interest would be attacked.This made the President to move with swift speed declaring an all out war with the enemy. They could no longer sustain their neutrality and isolationist attitude since this would have meant doom for this great nation. (Coffman,E1998 56) For any nation to rally its people to the cour se of the war ,there must be some information distributed urging people to support the course. This is what happened in America during the First World War. A body was formed with the purpose of influencing the americans opinion regarding participation in the war.President Wilson appointed advisers who included Walter Lippmann and Bernays Edward. Propaganda played a key role in getting the American public who intially were jittery about entering into the war. It was a necessary method through which Americans wanted to promote democractic policy around the world. There are various methods that were adopted to advance the propaganda ,movies depicting Germans as an evil lot. They warned the Americans to be wary of Germany spies. Patriotic organizations came up where effrots were made to try and get spies and traitors.The committee set up used various medium such as posters,cables and radio to convey the message to the people. Propaganda was a very effective tool during this war,American government was able to paint Germany as the biggest enemy of democracy and as the country having the worst human rights record where they killed even innocent babies in the name of the war. Through this methods the government gained the much needed support from the people who intially wanted nothing to do with a European war. (Degler,C 1984 604)The same tool has been used in many other occassions ,for example during the war in Afghanistan,change of regimes in Panama,Iraq,democratization of Nicaragua,The Philipines,Cuba,Hawaii,Puerto Rico and many other. The American government has used the same method in painting dictators in these countries as the enemies of democtatization process. The information given to the people as Kinzer chronicles highlighted waas meant to paint the leaders of these countries as bad and should be removed so that the natives can be liberated from their bad rules and oppressive systems.American interest were also in the picture in most of these undertakings. In both cases there are people who felt that the government was overstepping its mandate through its involvement in affairs which had nothing to do with America. These are some of the people who were the targetted by these propaganda machinery and in most casesthey worked right as america was able to intervene and bring some changes in some of the worst regimes in the world. (David,K 1980 24)Kinzers had expolored some of the examples where the American government has successfully used the similar method to rally its citizen behind it and helped win a war. The American people have been made to believe that the government is doing this as a noble course. It has portrayed itself as a machinery that intervenes to liberate masses without result to bloodshed,where innnocent civilians are killed. Starting with 1893 invasion of Hawaii , in the end there were no serious casualties but political stability was restored in these countries.This has been called interference with other nations af fairs in many occassions but the government has managed to get the support of the citizens who in the real sense fund these activities through the taxes they pay to the government. Though not all of these wars have been successful the American government has succeeded to bring sanity to some of these countries. Fot it to have succeeded ,it required much support from home,if this was not forthcoming it could have meant doom as it has happened in the recent years in Iraq and Afghanstan. (Degler,C 1980 304)The great war can not be said to have made world safe for democracy but it was a beginning of a long jorney. This is a process that woukld meet all forms of challlenges ranging form the spread of socialism and the emergence of new dicators who were determined to rule by their fists. America began a process where it aimed to bring sanity in the world politics a system where people would be free in their own countries. Through this method of governance peace would prevail in the world avoiding another ugly situation as had happened before in different palces in the world.(David,K 1980 27) There are some activities that the american governemnt has engaged in which seem to defeat the very cause they have been extending. One of them is the palmer raids conducted in the 1920s. This was a crakdown that aimed at neeting those who harbored different opinions from that of the government. Passing of some legisaltion such as Epsionage act and seditous act have been pointed as killing of democracy since they deny the citizens their right to speak their minds. They are contrary to the constituion which guarantees the American citizens frredom of speech.They have been criticized for having violated the very rights protected in our constituion. Some have even gone further with comparing American government with the world dictators who have been targeted before as they have used the same method to silence their subjects. (Mac Cormick,2005 45) One can draw some similaries betwee n the war on terror and what was happening at this period. War on terror is fight against force who do not believe in democracy. It is against a group of people whose ideologies aim at extending systems where people are denied fundamental rights.Various methods have been used to fight the war on terror,laws have been made to net the terror agents,legislation which are similar to the ones made during and after the great war. Some of these laws for example The so called Partiot act have met resistance since they violate the human rights where the government security agents have been given too much power to an extent of interfering with people’s privacy. America involvement in the great war changed the course of its history,it started a process that have brought order in some parts of the world where masses have liberated from oppressive regimes.This process have meeet opposition within and outside america but the government has in most cases rallied its people behind it through use of propaganda machinery. In most of the cases it has emerged voctorius. Work Cited Zieger, R. America Great War, Rowman and Littlefield (2001) David, K. The First World War and American Society, Oxford University Press (1980) Mac Cormick, C. Hunt for Red Scare Terrorrist Bombers, University Press of America (2005) Gegler, C. Out of Our Past. The Forces That Shaped Modern America, Harper and Row (1984) Coffman, E. The War to End Wars, University Press of Kentucky (1998)

Life and Circumstantial Luck

Tic- toc. Tic- toc. Do I go left or do I go right? All these years I have been following the road of life and now it is in my power to take the road that leads to my final destination. Along the way, I have traveled on many types of surfaces, but now I face my greatest challenge. I am stuck between two paths. One path leads to eternal happiness and other leads to eternal sadness. Is it in my destiny to choose the right path? Or will it just be my luck to choose the wrong path? Do I go left or do I go right? Tic- toc. Tic- toc. Life.It is such a simple word, yet the meaning is nothing close to simple at all. We all take a journey on the fabulous road to life, yet does anyone even know what life is? I mean we all live it, but what is it? Anyone know the definition? ( I’d surely would like to know. ) Well if no one truly doesn’t know the answer to life then how can we know for sure why things happen the way they do? Is there some kind of spiritual force out there? Is there some person or thing controlling our every move? Or do things just happen just because they do; coincidences and forces that we have no control over?No one really knows if a god really exists, so things just happen because they just do. Things happen because of coincidences and forces we have no control over. Our life is then based on luck, isn’t it? Think about it this way, luck refers to something that which happens beyond a person’s control. This view incorporates phenomena that chance happenings, a person’s place of birth for example, but where there is no uncertainty involved or where uncertainty is irrelevant. (Huh? English please. ) In other words, luck is just something that we have no control over and just happens.However, there are a few different types of luck. Constitutional luck, it is luck with factors that can’t be changed. Circumstantial luck, it is luck with factors that are haphazardly brought on. Lastly ignorance luck, it is luck with factors one doesn’t know about. (So, where does this luck come in play? ) Luck can be seen everywhere, whether it be in movies, books, paintings, or reality. We live our lives experiencing luck every day. As we step foot into a casino or acquire a lottery ticket, we unlock the emerald doorway to our chances.Chance is the key to any time of game. We spin the wheel of fortune hoping that it will land on something pleasant. Often in literature, luck plays a significant role. When we think of luck, we think of lucky number 7 or the colour green. But in reality, luck isn’t that clear. It is a mystery hidden behind the shadows. Some people are blinded by the concept of destiny that they don’t realize that it is luck that is aiding them. In one of the greatest plays written, Othello, the main character is a person who you would think is unaccepted by society, but is loved.Othello is a moor and a Muslim from Africa. He is this dark angel that many are afraid of, yet lov e. During the 1600s, only men of noble decent became generals with a few exceptions here and there. But a Moor becoming a general was just a preposterous idea. Regardless of this fact, Othello thinks that it was because of his accomplishments that made him become who he is. He had fought in many wars and then Brabantio had invited him to stay with him and â€Å"still questioned [him] the story of [his] life from year to year, the battle, sieges, fortune that [he had] passed. (Othello, 1. 3, 128-130) A white man had shown interest in a black man regardless of the racism in the world at that time. (How does that happen? ) Nevertheless, Othello somehow becomes a general before even meeting Brabantio and coming to Venice. How became a general, is a question no one has an answer to. We can accept the belief that his accomplishments made him successful, but with racism being a major factor nothing seems to add up. We can say that it was in his destiny to become a general, but really is t hat really the case?It is more of a matter of pure luck that Othello obtains such a high rank in society. Overcoming such obstacles especially in the 1600s was simply impossible. A black man could never have a higher rank than even a white surf. White was always greater than black. Goodness always prevails. (Well back then it did. Now does it? Yeah, not so much). So for Othello to have become a general it could not have been because of his accomplishments, it had to have been of random occurrence that made him just a bit better than a white surf and to move up the chain of success.To have luck take control of your life, neither wits nor feelings are involved- just possibility. We depend on random occurrences to aid us for the better. â€Å"Luck never gives; it only lends,† (E. B. White) If life does revolve around luck then you must pay a price for the goodness. You may get lucky for a while, but since luck never gives, it takes back the luck and it is why we experience karma . Luck may give us marvellous things, but sometime along the road all of it gets taken back. Yet the whole concept of luck doesn’t seem to quite add up.Random occurrences and things happening beyond a person’s control do exist, but not everything is random. Life on earth couldn’t have begun randomly. There must have been something that created all of this and luck- just doesn’t seem to quite explain why. Many religions in the world either agree or disagree with the concept of luck. Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, taught his followers not to believe in luck. The view which was taught by Gautama Buddha states that all things which happen must have a cause, either material or spiritual, and do not occur due to luck, chance or fate.The idea of moral causality, karma is central in Buddhism. In the Sutta Nipata ,the Buddha is recorded as having said the following about luck: â€Å"Whereas some religious men, while living of food provided by the faithf ul make their living by such low arts, such wrong means of livelihood as palmistry, divining by signs, interpreting dreams†¦ bringing good or bad luck†¦ invoking the goodness of luck†¦ picking the lucky site for a building, the monk Gautama refrains from such low arts, such wrong means of livelihood. † Lakshmi, is the Hindu Devi of money and fortune.It is said that by proper worship, with a meticulous prayer procedure the blessings of this powerful deity may be obtained. However, the Catholic Church excludes chance or luck as an explanation for creation. As well, there is no concept of luck in Islam other than actions pre-determined by God and that God alone has power over all things. It is stated in the Qur'an that one’s sustenance is pre-determined in heaven when the Lord says: â€Å"And in the heaven is your provision and that which ye are promised. † However, one should supplicate towards God to better one's life rather than hold faith in un-Is lamic acts such as using â€Å"lucky charms†.Religion is the belief in and worship of a god or gods, or any such system of belief and worship, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs. (Thank you dictionary. com) Whether one be atheist or follow a certain religion, one still has a belief in something. Many follow religions so they can give the creator of life a name; God. Many believe that God is the spiritual being that has created what we call the universe. No one knows for sure if he exists or not, but many want to believe that he does.In addition, throughout humanity, many messengers of God have walked the surface of the Earth and this gives more of a reason for people to believe that God exists. If God really does exist, then he must be the Supreme Being that had created life for us humans. Hence, he has already planned our life in a way, but in order to fulfil our life we have to put th e pieces of the puzzle together. The bits and pieces are scattered everywhere and it is not easy to find them all nor is it to put them together. Along the way pieces can get damaged or lost.When pieces of the puzzle get damaged it means that your life is going bad or something is not going good, but can still repair your life. Sometimes pieces can get lost to the point where you have not enough pieces to complete the puzzle. In that case you make bad decisions and then something tragic happens to your life, which can result in death. This can be seen as how people die at a young age. Some young individuals make the wrong decisions and then it ends up costing them their life. Searching for the pieces is not as easy as it sounds. The pieces can be right in front of us, but we second guess ourselves and don’t know where to look.Often times we seek advice from fortune tellers and prophets. We go to seek for any clues of the future and hope that we can find our right path. And ot her times, people tell us what our destiny is and it is what we believe and try to achieve. This is most often seen in movies and books about heroes. Many character archetypes are based on the concept of a hero. The hero is a larger-than-life character that often goes on some kind of journey or quest. In the course of his journey, the hero demonstrates the qualities and abilities valued by his culture.

Argumentative Essay Writing Tips

Argumentative Essay Writing Tips How to Write an Argumentative Essay? An argumentative essay typically consists of major points. However, the body paragraphs are the core part of the assignment. This is where a student is supposed to provide strong argumentation and evidence to the key points described in the work. The paper requires a considerable writing style, which appears to be the main challenge or writers. How to start an argumentative essay? A good thing about the paper is that students can generally choose a topic they like unless the instructor assigns it. Try to choose a topic you are good at. It is the only way to write something solid. You are supposed to be an expert or at least show off your expertise making readers believe that you are an expert. To achieve this, you need to do the following: Step 1 – Make a plan Having a clear plan or outline is the basis for the paper. The writing process will be time-consuming and daunting unless you have a clear plan. Try several variants, sketch the outline and choose the best bet. When you work out the plan, you already have a clear understanding of what to write about and in what way. Step 2 – Handle the creative block The creative crisis is a common issue for many amateur and immature writers. You will obviously face creative problems especially if you write this type of paper for the first time. Do not overload your brain with difficult objectives. Try to think clearly or simply have a rest not to be overwhelmed with the task. Keep your mind clear; make notes of everything that may come in handy. Step 3 – Benefit from critical thinking Once you are done with the plan and ready to write, it is high time we used critical thinking. Check all your notes and try to organize the key ideas bringing them to one place featuring logical connections. Make sure you stick to the plan. Add proofs and argumentations in accordance with the outlines. Step 4 – Revise the paper The major part of your writing work is done! Good for you! Now you need to make sure that the content is flawless from grammar and writing style perspectives. You need to edit and proofread the paper.   Double-check the text to make you feel safe. The slightest mistake will doom your work to failure. Step 5 – Let friends read your paper You’ve done a great job! A good idea is to ask your friends or relatives to read the essay and share their opinion. They can notice some mistakes or misconnections as well. Checking and editing are never enough when it comes to delivering high-quality argumentative essays.

The Saint Michael Medal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Saint Michael Medal - Essay Example A visual projection of the Catholic's designed of the image of Archangel Michael holding a sword upright pointing toward to the beast on his feet that is being suggestive of its losing from Michael's force is what is being engraved uniformly to the medal. In Catholic tradition that almost every personality in the Scriptures (some are not) or entities are being sanctified by their administration, Archangel Michael was hailed as saint by the Catholic Church. It has been ordained to their conviction that "Saint Michael" will be the patron of the following (Catholic-Online 2008): Such list of believed to be the criteria that encompass the sainthood of Archangel Michael given by the Catholic Church as he has been honored and invoked as patron and protector from the time of the Apostles as this church claimed. In addition to this, he was also being regarded by the Catholic officials as patron of the dying people and those being tempted (Catholic-Online 2008). An example is the design "Sterling Michael 'Shield' Medal" that is made of sterling silver. The Catholic company website is selling this piece which they regarded as a sacred piece for them for $44.00.

Discuss the way in which organisational structures impacts on the flow Essay

Discuss the way in which organisational structures impacts on the flow of work and overall purposes of the service are achieved - Essay Example that an organization can either be formally aligned in its ways and means of doing things and different processes or the same might just be in a way informal in quite a few of its activities and tasks. The manner in which it runs across this paradigm is something that needs to be studied in depth before we reach further consensus on their purposes and the kind of achievements that they have had. As we talk about an organization, we see that within it the communication can flow in one of three ways or in all the three directions. This means that these three directions pave the way for the ease of communication and there are as such no barriers to arise from the whole equation. The first communication flow is from top to bottom, which means that the communication starts from the top management and goes down towards the middle and lower management. It ensures that the instructions are easily made comprehensible for all and sundry who are within the middle and lower cadres and there are as such no discrepancies arising from this form of communication flow. The second form could be the one that starts from the lower or middle management and goes up towards the top management. A common example of this kind of communication flow is in the type of protests and rallies that arise at the lower level and the lower management wants to make sure that their voice gets heard courtesy the top cadre of the organization. The third communication flow could be in the kind of peer to peer communication and interaction. This means that the employees and the workers at the same level communicate within their own capacities and as such there are no hindrances arising from the whole communication matrix. Apart from this, within an organization the communication also flows in a formal as well as an informal manner. Where the communication is more formal and sophisticated, the interaction is usually done through paper and written requests whereas the informal talk is also called

The Piano Lesson by August Wilson Research Paper

The Piano Lesson by August Wilson - Research Paper Example The point of the disagreement is the piano. Boy Willie has travelled to Pittsburgh to get his portion of the piano, which is presently in the ownership of Berniece, his sister.   Boy Willie is a ruffian, and thinks that the profit from the piano gives him his finest opportunity to surpass the social and economic persecution that has troubled the men in his family (Boan 73). Yet, his vision of a better life is prevented by the refusal of Berniece to put on sale what is, she believes, a very important symbol the family’s history. All over the play, therefore, the piano becomes a criterion through which conflicting perceptions of the past could be assessed. The outcome is that Wilson has re-interpreted the difficulties of bearing the weight of history, which is at the core of his other stories, into an issue of how to use history in the most effective way. As Wilson said (Krasner 327): â€Å"The real issue is the piano, the legacy. How are you going to use it?†Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Wilson dreamed of writing a ten-play series that would highlight the history of African Americans in his country. He tool on the responsibility of an ancestral ‘griot’ whose obligation was to protect and perpetuate his culture’s history and heritage: â€Å"†¦ the role of the griot is significant since it is with him we mark the beginning of African literary tradition as we know it† (Miller 97). So as to accomplish this he engaged in his ten-play series which would introduce the experience of the African Americans to his fellow citizens and to the rest of the world.

Destiny of a Hero Essay Example for Free

Destiny of a Hero Essay Upon reading or watching the epic tales of heroes, it is easy to overlook the connection they all share. From his writings in, A Hero With A Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell brings to light the journey of a hero in â€Å"the rights of passage: separation – initiation – return: which might be named the nuclear unit of the monomyth.† (Campbell, 30) The epic tale of a hero follows the universal pattern of Campbell’s monomyth beginning with the separation, or call to adventure leaving one’s family, friends, or tribe. Followed by the initiation of the crossing the threshold into the world unknown where he encounters trials and is victorious. S/he can then return home with a â€Å"boon† to aid and/or restore his/her world. According to Campbell, â€Å"[o]ther [monomyths] string a number of independent cycles into a single series (as in the Odyssey).† (Campbell, 246) In Beowulf, the poet has sent Beowulf on his journey of the monomyth. However, like Csmpbell has written, Beowulf’s journey consist of three miniature monomyths that can be connected into one hero’s journey that take several decades of his life to complete. In the first cycle, consider Beowulf’s initial call to adventure. King Hrothgar was in desperate need of a hero to rid of is curse, Grendel, that terrorizes his people in the Mead Hall. Capbell writes, â€Å"[w]ith the personifications of his destiny to guide him, the hero goes forward until he comes to the ‘threshold guardian.’† (Campbell, 77) He claims â€Å"that there is a benign power supporting him in his superhuman passage.† (Campbell, 97) Recall the incredibly fierce storm in the sea Beowulf and the Geats had to endure on their journey that should swallowed them whole. Campbell claims that there are forces beyond the hero that guide him to his destiny. Upon arrival, Beowulf and his thanes are confronted at Heorot by the first threshold guardian. Here, according to Campbell, the hero must â€Å"defeat or conciliate† the guardian in order for the true adventure to begin. Beowulf conciliates the watchman to take him and his thanes to the Mead Hall. From  there, Beowulf falls into the next step of the monomyth, entering â€Å"the kingdom of the dark.† (245) Beowulf’s fight with Grendel, which takes place in the darkness in the Mead Hall, wins him the boon, the arm of Grendel. â€Å"The final work is that of the return. . . the common day.† (Campbell, 216, 246) Upon winning the boon, the curse of King Hrothgar had been lifted and the community had been restored. In return, Beowulf undergoes apotheosis from the community and is rewarded with the royal dragon horn. The next two cycles follow much of the same pattern of Campbell’s monomyth. His next call to adventure comes in the form of murders. Beowulf wakes in the morning after the celebration only to see his men killed and hung from the ceiling of the Mead Hall. Once again, the hero had to travel to the cave where Grendel’s mother resided – into the unknown. There, he had entered the cave, crossing the threshold, where â€Å"[t]he hero . . . is swallowed into the unknown.† (Campbell, 90) and is confronted by its guardian, which happened to be Grendel’s mother. However, Beowulf does not defeat her, but is rather seduced by her as well as her promises to make him all-powerful, and â€Å"through the graces of some male or female . . . the [hero] still must return with his life-transmuting trophy.† (Campbell, 193) Beowulf returns to the world familiar with his boon, the â€Å"head of Grendel’s mother.† King Hrothgar immediately knows that Beowulf is lying, however he and the community appraise him to an even higher apotheosis and Hrothgar declares Beowulf his heir after his soo n-to-be death. Beowulf’s final call to adventure comes in the form of a dragon burning Unferth’s home and family. Leaving Unferth alive to deliver the message to King Beowulf: â€Å"[t]he sins of the fathers.’† For one final time, Beowulf crosses the threshold (that being the cave) into the unknown and is confronted by its guardian, Grendel’s mother. Failing to conciliate with her, Beowulf enters the threshold of adventure, literally taking the form of a dragon battle. However, in this battle, Beowulf struggled in his magic flight in trying to defeat the dragon and had to descend into his own death in order to slay the creature. Beowulf had brought the boon to his people in the form of freedom from the dragon and received the ultimate apotheosis in that his name will be remembered forever as the â€Å"prince of all warriors†. Viewing Beowulf’s entire life as one hero’s journey on a grand scale, it follows Campbell’s paradigm. In Beowulf’s separation, his call to adventure was when he heard that Hrothgar was in need of a hero to kill Grendel. Beowulf sets sail along with his fellow Geats to the world unknown and must endure the trials and ordeals along the way. Beowulf, being aided by some force of supernatural power on his travels out in the powerful sea storm, no match for ordinary man. Upon his arrival, Beowulf enters the first threshold into the Dark World, that being the Mead Hall, and then battling the threshold guardian, Grendel. After the defeat of Grendel, Beowulf is given his first apotheosis, as the people of Heorot praise him and he was rewarded the royal dragon horn. However, the trials are not over for Beowulf, as after his men are murdered, his next task is to kill Grendel’s mother. Here, he crosses the threshold into the unknown once again and into the â€Å"belly of the whale† (the cave) and meeting the â€Å"queen† (Grendel’s mother). Beowulf enters the initiation element of Campbell’s monomyth. Although there was no battle, Beowulf had been defeated. Not physically, but Grendel’s mother had been successful in seducing Beowulf with her promises in exchange for the dragon horn, thus binding them in a â€Å"sacred marriage†. Beowulf then travels back to the community and is raised to an even grander apotheosis as he is made their king. It takes Beowulf some decades later to reach the final stage of Campbell’s outline, the hero’s return. After years of being an almighty king, Beowulf once again receives the special item, the dragon horn, and then the village is literally attacked by a dragon. This bring Beowulf to the crossing of the return threshold (the cave). Immediately on his arrival, he goes on the magic flight in his battle with the dragon. These set of events lead him into the final stages of the hero’s journey. Beowulf slayed the beast at the cost of his own life as well. He achieves the ultimate apotheosis and his name will always be remembered and the people will sing of it. Beowulf has won a temporary boon (peace from the dragon and Grendel’s mother’s wrath) for the people of Heorot. Temporary because Wiglaf (new king) receives that special item (dragon horn) and it is unknown what actions he will take with Grendel’s mother. â€Å"The adventure of the hero normally follows the pattern of the nuclear unit . . . a separation from the world, a penetration to some source of power, and a life enhancing return.† (Campbell, 35) There is no doubt that the story of Beowulf follows Campbell’s monomyth cycle of a hero’s journey. Beowulf’s entire journey actually consists of three miniature journeys embedded into one grand journey that is Beowulf’s monomyth.

Effective and Environmentally Safe Household Cleaner

Effective and Environmentally Safe Household Cleaner Introduction Cleaning products are an essential part of maintaining any home or workplace. However, many of the well-known household cleaners contain chemicals that can harm the environment. This is a main reason as to why a consumer’s choice upon choosing a cleaning product should rely on the safety of not only humans but the environment as well. For example, cleaning products that contain Volatile organic compounds can affect indoor air quality as well as contribute to the formation of smog in outdoor air (EPA, 2010). Therefore, an experiment has been conducted to accurately determine which cleaner-vinegar, Comet, All Purpose, baking soda, or a mixture of vinegar and baking soda- is the most environmentally safe and the most efficient. The end result should display the mix of Vinegar and Baking Soda as being the most environmentally safe and efficient household cleaning product. Method To begin the experiment, draw two lines on each tile (five tiles total) 10 centimeters long. Label each line as either a 1 or 2 on each tile to distinguish the trials. (Note: each line will be used for separate trials.) Also, label each tile as the name of the cleaner being used. Then, measure 10 milliliters of vinegar using a graduated cylinder. Depending on paper towels available, fold as needed to where it does not rip or bleed through while scrubbing. Next, pour the vinegar from the graduated cylinder slowly onto the line marked as trial 1. Scrub the stain that has vinegar on it vigorously using the paper towels. Same person scrubbing the vinegar will do so for the rest of the products and trials. Start the stopwatch once the scrubbing begins and stop as soon as the mark is completely removed. Record results immediately after the stain is erased and clearly state any observations obtained. Repeat this procedure for both Comet and All Purpose cleaners. However, a different method must be taken when removing the stain with a baking soda and water solution. In a plastic cup mix two scoops of baking soda with 30 milliliters of water. Measure 10 milliliters of that solution into a graduated cylinder. Pour the solution onto the tile labeled trial 1. Scrub vigorously using paper towels as needed. Record observations and the amount of time it takes to remove crayon stain. Repeat the procedure with baking soda and water except replace the water with vinegar. It will now be a baking soda and vinegar solution. Finally, record observations and time taken to remove the crayon mark. Repeat all procedures for each solution an additional time but instead using the mark labeled as trial 2. Make sure to record all data and observations after each crayon mark is thoroughly removed from the tile. Results Observations were made immediately following each trial. For instance, vinegar was clear and watery. It had a sour scent and was not messy. Unlike vinegar, baking soda was messy, milky, and gritty. Comet was a thick, green, slimy, and bleach-smelling product. Like baking soda, Comet was also messy. All Purpose, however, was not messy and had a bleach stench. It was also watery and made bubbles once the scrubbing began. Vinegar and baking soda mixture was milky, gritty, and made a reaction when mixed together. Conclusion In conclusion, this experiment was successful in displaying which cleaning product was the most efficient, while being environmentally safe. In this experiment there were four specific cleaning products that were experimented. The hypothesis is supported by the data that was obtained; the combination of vinegar and baking soda is the most efficient in removing a crayon stain. Moreover, as well as being the most efficient, vinegar and baking soda is the most environmentally safe. The data that was concluded from each product are as follows. The first cleaning product tested was vinegar and was found to be inefficient time wise, taking over 3 minutes to remove the stain. Vinegar has an ingredient of acetic acid. If acetic acid is released into the environment it will either evaporate or natural waters will neutralize the solution into acetate salts, either of which are not harmful (Iowa State University, 2001). The next product tested was Comet. It was found to be inefficient, but on a verage was the second to fastest in removing the stain, taking only over a minute compared to vinegar’s 3 minutes. Comet contains fragrance, surfactant, sodium hydroxide, sodium hypochlorite, water, and cleaning agent. Of the ingredients, sodium hypochlorite was found to be the most harmful because it is a toxic chemical. Although sodium hypochlorite is only entered in the environment by a spill or misuse, overexposure can result in harm to aquatic wildlife such as freshwater fish (SDA, 1997). Another product tested was Great Value All Purpose Cleaner. All Purpose took almost as much time as Vinegar to remove the stain, making it inefficient as well. Like Comet, All Purpose contained 2% sodium hypochlorite; therefore, they have similar effects on the environment, both of which are harmful to aquatic wildlife if overexposed. An additional product tested was baking soda. The data for baking soda in the first trial of the experiment can be classified as inconclusive as a result of the baking soda sinking to the bottom of the cup when mixed with water. However, when conducting the second trial the time made an enormous decrease, taking a little over 30 seconds to remove the crayon mark. Baking soda is made up of sodium bicarbonate. Sodium bicarbonate occurs in nature. Therefore, further studies indicate that under normal conditions and use of sodium bicarbonate there are no harmful effects pertaining to plant life and the environment. In fact, research studies show that sodium bicarbonate improves sewage treatment by effectively using pH and enhancing anaerobic digestion of solids (Arm and Hammer, 2012). The final cleaning product tested was a mixture of vinegar and baking soda. This mixture was concluded to be the most efficient in time, taking less than 20 seconds to remove the crayon mark in both trials 1 and 2. Due to this mixture of acetic vinegar and basic baking soda, the resulting solution is a neutral substance- carbon dioxide- that is not harmful to the environment. Ultimately, as previously stated, the hypothesis was supported by this experiment; vinegar and baking soda mixed is the most effective and environmentally safe product. The cost of both vinegar and baking soda is not the cheapest, being a little over 3 dollars, but the effectiveness and safety override that factor. An error recorded for this experiment is that the lines drawn onto the tiles were too thick, making it harder to scrub off with the cleaning product which may have altered the overall data for that trial. Furthermore, the tiles itself had different textures which could have had an overall effect on the amount of time taken to remove the crayon stain. Works Cited Arm and Hammer. (2012). Product Safety Summary. Retrieved from http://www.ahperformance.com/media/files/Product-Safety-Summary_SBC_Final.pdf Iowa State University. (2001). Material Safety Data Sheet Acetic Acid, Glacial. Retrieved from http://avogadro.chem.iastate.edu/MSDS/acglac.htm The Soap and Detergent Association. (1997). Sodium Hypochlorite. Retrieved from http://www.aciscience.org/docs/sodium_hypochlorite.pdf U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2010). Greening Your Purchase of Cleaning Products: A Guide For Federal Purchaser. Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/epp/pubs/cleaning.htm