Ethics of Belief – Clifford

Clifford focuses on three main points throughout the Ethics of Belief article. He believes that in order to have a sense of belief one must inquire on the belief, question authority, and the limit the usage of inference. He believes that without these three factors it is difficult to come to a consensus on what are the right and wrong principles of belief. At the beginning of the article Clifford focuses on the duty of inquiry. In order to set the background, Clifford introduces a story about a man who sent a ship out into the sea knowing it was not seaworthy.The ships condition inevitably led to its sinking, and the death of the people aboard. Now, Clifford claims that the man is guilty of the death of these people because, â€Å"†¦ he had no right to believe such evidence was before him†(pg 236). This is true for a number of reasons. Paraphrasing what Clifford mentioned, mans belief is never a private matter, and every insignificant moment counts. Clifford states, †Å"†¦it is not the belief which is judged to be wrong, but the action following upon it†(pg 237).If the man had taken use of his time and taken the extra initiative to double check if the ship was in sea-worthy condition, he could have not been in a guilty position. Skipping this action effected lives of many. Clifford's argues that when one has a belief it does not matter whether the belief is true or false, but rather if it is followed through upon fair grounds. When speaking of the duty of inquiry, it is very important to inquire on the belief and obtain evidence as to create a fair inquiry.Second the weight of authority plays a role in the ethic of belief. One argument throughout the article is supporting the reason why should we believe something that goes beyond our own experience or even beyond the understanding of mankind. People tend to believe men with power and authority, but there may not be a justifiable reason to believe that they are not deluded themselves. Unless a belief created by authority is within their area of knowledge, how can we be justified in believing them.This question has helped people ask more questions, to examine, and to investigate beliefs and to determine what a belief should be based on before it should be believed to be true. The last point he made was on the limits of inference. The basis of this argument is that it is wrong to believe without sufficient evidence and that ultimately no evidence can be justified if it is beyond our knowledge and the uniformity of nature. I believe there is no flaw in Clifford's article.He believes that in order to have a valid belief it must have the principles of inquiry, limitations on authority, and the need for more evidence. Without inquiring more into the evidence, it can lead to false belief which can only cause trouble. I agree with Clifford's view of gaining knowledge through inquiry, examining and investigating the perspective of authority because there is no reason to b elieve that they themselves are in a position to know right from wrong, that their authority and command on belief is one to be trusted.Lastly I agree with his ideas on the limits of inference. A belief may be something that is beyond our experience and we might never understand this experience unless we have experienced it. Anyone can infer, but without evidence they can't justify a belief especially if it outside what is known to them. Every moment in life is precious it is very important that we take advantage of each moment. Clifford's views resonate with me because he cherishes the power of knowledge. It is crucial to constantly question, examine and investigate all beliefs and assumptions.Another important idea to note is that just because someone has a belief doesn't mean it has any grounds of truth. No amount of authority is grounds to believe any idea. Lastly it is important to always find evidence to support beliefs and never make unjustifiable assumptions as seen in that ship example. Belief gives humans a sense of power and allows them to gain a better understanding of life. Though it is important to recognize that this power can also easily be abused if not properly analyzed.

How Literature Reflects Communities Essay

Authors have historically used various literary works to reflect the societies in which their live. To this end, the actions of characters in literary works reflect existing social concepts whereas the surrounding society’s behavior mirrors on specific characters’ behaviors. In essence, societies and communities are normally depicted as mutually affecting each other. Notable cases of literary works in which such reciprocal interaction is demonstrated are the three short stories namely: William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily; Flannery O’Connor’s Good Country People; and Toni Cade Bambara’s The Lesson. To illustrate, through his A Rose for Emily story, Faulkner describes Emily Grierson as being negatively affected by her surrounding society. In turn, Emily’s actions negatively impact of her compatriots. Likewise, through the Good Country People story, O’Connor describes the character named Joy Hopewell as negatively impacting on the people around her. Consecutively, the society in which Hopewell lives demonstrates an attitude that negatively affects her. In a similar version, Toni Cade Bambara’s The Lesson story illustrates the character called Miss Moore being negatively affected by her surrounding society. In response, Miss Moore demonstrates behaviors and attitudes that negatively impact on her compatriots. All in all, O’Connor – through Good Country People – Faulkner – through A Rose for Emily – as well as Bambara – through The Lesson short stories – describe their protagonists as reciprocally affecting and being affected by their societies in a negative way. For example, in Bambara’s The Lesson story, Miss Moore’s condescending opinion towards her compatriots – especially the children with which she spends most of her time – attracts disproval from the surrounding community. Consequently, both the children as well as the adults disrespect Miss Moore. For instance, Bambara notes that ‘the grown-ups (talk) †¦.. when †¦. behind her back like a dog,’ thus showing utter disrespect for Miss Moore (). Moore’s irritatingly patronizing nature is evident when she ‘looks at’ her students ‘ like she readin tea leaves’ (). The author thus presents a picture of an individual and the surrounding society mutually affecting each other in a negative manner. Likewise, through the A Rose for Emily story, Faulkner shows that Emily’s unbecoming behavior invites rude responses from her compatriots. For instance, Emily demonstrates impoliteness when she demonstrates stubbornness towards her society’s pleas that she pays taxes. She even firmly removes the society’s representatives from her house. Abruptly summoning Tobe – her manservant – Emily instructs him to ‘Show these gentlemen out’ (). In reaction, the society demonstrates indifference towards her as is evident from the narrator’s assertions that the society does not know of Emily’s sickness. To this end, the narrator remarks ‘We did not even know she was sick’ (). Similarly, through his Good Country People story, O’Connor depicts Joy Hopewell as a character who demonstrates haughtiness towards her compatriots – notably Mrs. Freeman and Hopewell ‘s mother – the result being that she becomes painfully alienated from her society. For example, because she is educated , Hopewell mocks all people around her as is evident from her remark that her mother is ‘bloated, rude, and squint-eyed’ (). In reaction, society alienates Hopewell , thus making her to beg her mother to wholesomely accept her. A deeply remorseful Hopewell cries out to the mother saying ‘like I am’ take me (). In conclusion, the issue of individuals negatively reacting with their surrounding communities is clearly evident through the 3 stories, Good Country People, The Lesson, as well as A Rose for Emily. Good Country People’s Hopewell suffers segregation due to her arrogant attitude towards her compatriots. Likewise, A Rose for Emily’s Emily suffers segregation due to her condescending view of her society. Lastly, The Lesson’s Miss Moore’s is disrespected by society owing to her attitude of viewing her compatriots as being unknowledgeable.

Capacity Strategy at Alden Products

Capacity strategy should embody a mental model of how a firm works in a given industry and geographic region. There are a series of assumptions and predictions about the log-term behaviour of markets, technologies, costs and competitor’s behaviour. Such a model would include the following factors: * Predicted growth and variability of demand for the firm’s products and services * Costs of building and operating different sized-facilities * Likely rate and direction of technological evolution Expected behaviour of competitors * Anticipated availability, capabilities and costs of external suppliers The European organization of Alden Products, Inc. is contemplating a doubling of unit sales over the next ten years. Their largest plant, located in Holland, was set up 25 years earlier to supply all demands of the EEC countries on the continent. It has since expanded six times. The question in mind pertaining to the case is that: * Should it expand again? * Should it build a new plant in Southern Europe? Or should it expand its use of contract fillers? As of 1988, 75% of Alden-Europe’s sales took place on the continent and 25% came from UK. Out of 75% of the continent, * 25% came from France, * 12. 5% came from Italy, * 37. 5% came from Spain and Germany Alden-Europe’s overall growth was expected to average over 40% per year but this varied across various countries. Thus, there was a high degree of uncertainty about the growth rate in several countries. The capacity strategy adopted by API was Policy C: Add Capacity Only after Demand Exceeds It. This policy implies that the company’s capacity plan will contain a negative cushion so that the likelihood of running short is greater than the likelihood of having excess capacity. As per my analysis of the scenario, I feel that API should expand at Uniplant based upon the following factors: How capacity and operations management will interact in case of expansion? An operation’s actual capacity is affected by some important factors. They are as follows: 1. Capacity is technology based: A number of Uniplant’s products used proprietary formulations and ingredients. Opening up a plant in new location would make the management get reluctant to risk the secrecy of these formulations. The same would be applicable if they would go ahead with contract fillers. 2. Capacity depends on the interaction of multiple resource constraints: Uniplant attains the following advantage over Southern Europe in matters like: * No additional land needed * Availability of labour * Fewer additional employees * Cost Advantage in terms of production of own plastic bottles Availability and long-term relationship with suppliers * Speed up the processing time . Capacity is location specific: Holland is a desirable place in terms of access to raw materials, proximity to markets via existing rail lines and highways, labour costs, tax rates and political and social stability. 4. Capacity is mix dependent: The capacity of the plant which was under 90% was greatly dependent on the production mix which included both the product mix and size mix. Different products/services consume different amounts of various resources, so a change in location could affect the product mix as the availability of the various resources could also differ. Capacity depends on management policies: The management was clear about the fact the product quality should be clearly distinguishable as superior to the competition in terms of performance, packaging and design finish. Hence by subcontracting, the company would increase the risk of reduction in quality and customer service and increase in indirect costs. 6. Capacity is affected by the degree of variability of demand: Sales in different countries were expected to grow at different rates. There were also changes predicted to occur in wage and exchange rates. Hence, an increase in the number of plants would just complicate the entire issue. In terms of sizing of capacity increments taking into account scale considerations, the company should attain long term economies of scale. This scale refers to the economies that arise from using one large facility rather than a number of smaller ones. This often results in savings because the processing capacity is roughly proportional to its interior volume and its cost is more closely related to the surface area in terms of where the materials and labour hours are concentrated. We also know that though there is a growth in demand, variability exists across different countries. Greater the variability, there are chances that there would be a greater amount of underutilized capacity and at this stage opening a new plant in a different location altogether could make the entire scenario vulnerable. Drawbacks of not opening a new plant in Southern Europe are as follows: * Loose an opportunity to tap a lower cost labour market * Reduction in transportation costs had a new plant come up in Southern Europe * Would not be able to offset the protectionist sentiment in both France and Italy. Thus we see that by adopting the option of expansion at Uniplant, the company would be in a better state as compared to the other options. However a few recommendations in terms of changes to be mad in the expansion plan are provided below: Uniplant’s mark-up price should be reduced from 10% to 5% initially and then become nil in mere future. This would increase the number of sales from the customer point of view and would also help other countries to price their products competitively even during times when there is any kind of fluctuation in exchange rates. They should equalize the unit transportation costs to all subsidiaries which would make the entire process less complex and fair. This would help in maintaining long term relationships with them. Standardized products could be subcontracted but products involving high-technology shouldn’t be under contract filling as this could increase the risk of quality deterioration and increase in indirect costs.

1st student project Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

1st student project - Term Paper Example The geological reasons given to most earthquakes are the movment of tectonic plates, causing damage when two plates overlap, slide under or over or past one another. The puzzling aspect about the mid western quakes is that they do not come under the areas affect by fault lines or cracks. There is geological evidence that this area was shook by earthquakes during the period of A.D 490, A.D 900 and A.D 1450, after which there were quakes again in 1811 to 1812. The details imply a five hundred year pattern, under the theory that faults build up stress, causing these violent earthquakes as a let out. Another hypothesis that has been suggested as the reason behind the mid western quakes is the effect of ice glaciers from 20,000 years ago. Once the ice melted, lifting the load, the land began to rise but the mantle is not as flexible and takes longer to respond to the release of pressure. (findarticles.com). This is believed to have created unusual tension in the mid western continental Un ited States, causing the New Madrid quakes. Scientists have pinpointed a number of faults that have caused earthquakes over the midwestern region, shown in the map below. It is also believed by scientists after 9 years of observation, that the New Madrid fault line might be shutting down, as it has shown no activity in the observation span. As a consequence, the risk calculations have varied wildly, from a 10 percent chance of a disastrous earthquake in the next 50 years to a chance of just 1 percent or less. (Choi, 2009). The Lower Wabash Valley of southwestern Indiana and adjacent parts of Illinois is seismically active. (Hill, 2002). There have been reports of earthquakes in parts of southwestern Indiana, affecting different parts in the years 1968, 1987 and 2001. It has been noted that the Lower Wabash Valley is capable of causing disastrous earthquakes at any time.

Annotated Bibliograpy. Environmental Change and Challenge Essay

Annotated Bibliograpy. Environmental Change and Challenge - Essay Example It is also important for the world to embrace the need for scientific concepts in the study and understanding of the global environment (Dearden and Mitchell 89). They further say that the environmental change in the West has played a significant role in the state of the region in the modern day. In Ammons poem he advocated for proper dumping of wastes. The need of proper dumping programs is the key to a pollution free environment. The increasing sizes of dumping sites are alarming to the environment. Each and every day the society faces cases of environmental degradation through inappropriate dumping and emissions of waste (Ammons, par 6). Cultural Trash: Waste In The West A.R. Ammons. Corsons Inlet; The City Limits; Garbage Dearden, Philip. & Bruce, Mitchell. Environmental Change and Challenge. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 2005. Print Garbage has been one of the emerging problems in all countries including the United States. In referring to garbage, many environmentalists refer to dumping as an environmental hazard. Apart from dumping the society faces affects of industrial wastes. Generally, it can be referred as pollution through emission of waste. With the increasing population it is obvious to conclude with the assumption that the waste levels in the United States are significantly increasing. This begs the question; where does all this waste go to? Are they properly disposed? What does the government contribute to see appropriate disposal programs? As much as there is improvement in disposing regulations, they are not enough to ensure the people that the environment has become waste free. In years dumping sites have been the most contested issues for the activists, industries and the government locking horns on the location of dumping sites. Activists always believe that every location across the state is no t an option for a location of a dumping site. Activists advocate for a dumping site free environment. According to Dearden and Bruce, the government has the financial resources to recycle all the waste produced by the population (45). Apart from recycling, activists also advocate for the government intervention in the evaluating materials used in manufacturing products. With proper evaluation, there is the possibility that non biodegradable items will not find their way into the society. In an argument by Ammons, an appropriate measure to stop dumping is to tackle the problem right from the production face (par, 9). Environmental friendly packaging should be advocated for. Packaging materials form almost 90% of the total waste dumping. Population dumping is usually small scale if compared to industrial waste emission. Different from population dumping, industrial dumping constitutes of more hazardous chemicals and metal bits. If industrial dumping is properly dealt with, the polluti on status of the whole environment could be decreased by 70% (Dearden and Bruce, pp. 87). In the modern society, industrial evaluation and certification process covers the safety of emissions to the environment. In recent years, most industries have opted to join the go green campaign by using environmental friendly products and minimizing emissions. This trend is improving but in a slow motion. The government has fiercely joined in the fight for the controlling of industrial emissions. However, some mega companies and industries still have the green light to process goods with very great effect to the environmen

Effective Workplace Inspection Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Effective Workplace Inspection - Research Paper Example An inspection refers to the function of observation undertaken in any organization in order to identify and account for the potential and existing perils or hazards which can possibly lead to the occurrence of any accidents and mishaps at the workplace. The activity of workplace inspection is an important practice for maintaining health and safety and is undertaken on regular basis. It is referred to as the foundation stone to implementing a successful health and safety program at the workplace. The potential or actual hazards are detected, and the suggested remedial actions are implemented to remove the hazards form the working area (OSACH, 2003). There are identifiable and definable factors in every organization which become the reason of occupational illnesses and workplace accidents. A hazard is any circumstances or conditions which bear the probability of causing the negative effects or damages to the health of people. The risk level to the health inclines with the strength of hazards and the frequency and interval of the people’s contact with the hazard. All the functions and activities within the organization demand the requirement of strategic management of the occupational safety and health hazards. This demand is thus, fulfilled through the application of workplace inspection practices. The practices of workplace inspection are of vital importance in the organizations. The major significance of such practices lies in the fact that they provide a necessary support in preventing the illnesses and injuries to the employees. With the help of critical examination and observation of the workplace, the inspections tend to detect and keep track of hazards for the adoption of remedial actions. The planning, conducting, monitoring and reporting of the inspections are undertaken by the joint occupational health and safety committees. Regular undertaking of the

Hobbes and Locke views on the State of Nature Essay

Hobbes and Locke views on the State of Nature - Essay Example The egoism in man, is a presupposition of Hobbes which leads him to the description of nature as a constant power struggle. In a natural state, that is, in a physical state, men are generally equal in strength, mental capacity and experience (Solomon, Ed, 1992, p. 178). He asserts that everyone has a natural and equal right to everything. However, if man was without government the conflict from desire would lead to a state of war of every man against every man: Hereby it is manifest, that during the time men live without a common Power to keep them all in awe, they are in that condition which called Warre; and such a warre, as is of every man, against every man(Solomon, Ed, 1992, p. 179). Fortunately, however, Hobbes argues that "passion" in the form of a "fear of death", and the desire to live a long and peaceful life, has allowed man to use "reason" in order to form laws which combined, provide the basis or foundation of a civil society, allowing man, therefore, to escape the state of nature-- the universal "strife": â€Å"The Passions that encline men to Peace, are Feare of Death ... and Reason suggesteth convenient articles of Peace, upon which men may be drawn to agreement.(Solomon, Ed, 1992, p. 180) It is at this point, that the political philosophy of Hobbes can now be understood, given that the foundations have been established, namely, that if the end of man is security, then the state itself is necessary. In particular, for the purposes of securing peace, Hobbes argues that of the three forms of government, monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy, monarchy is the most effective at realizing this end of a peaceful society. In keeping with the notion that the state itself, is a like a human body-- or, one might refer to the state in this sense, as the political body. Monarchy is like the mind of a body, which rationally maintains the desires in a sense of harmony. The desires, in terms of the analogy of the state with the body, amount to the people who th e monarch is sovereign over. Hobbes argues that for the purposes of peace, monarchy is necessary. The interests of the monarchy and his subjects, Hobbes argues are exactly alike, thus, what is good for the monarchy (the mind), is also good for the people (the body), given that they are all connected with the aim of self-maintenance: â€Å"It is manifest, that men who are in absolute liberty, may, if they please, give Authority to One man, to represent them everyone.† (Solomon, Ed, 1992, p. 184) Thus, if the Monarch is rich and secure, so too is the people, given that his wealth is derived from theirs. Further, there will be no argument and disagreement in making decisions, and that decisions will stand more firm. As an analogy again, with the body, one could see for example, that when someone is confused or in a state of inner turmoil mentally, often the body suffers as a result. If there is only one decision maker, namely, the monarch, then there is no suffering amidst the b ody as a whole. In terms of fear then, which was raised earlier in the context of Hobbes view of human nature, or his psychology, Hobbes argues that rather than fearing the sovereign which is reasonable and the regulator of the passions-- the body should

Supply Chain Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 9

Supply Chain Management - Essay Example so allow them to supply to the market as quickly and precisely as possible in order to meet the actual demand without being able to consider maintaining a high inventory level. When there is high inventory, there is also high linked up cost with it. Thus, the prevailing structural program of Dell with respect to its recent supply chain strategy ensures a great way of generation of profit as the entire activity minimizes the loss of market opportunity. In other words, the ability of Dell to forecast demand allows it to provide the essential supply to its target marketplace. In order to do this, the company relies heavily on information by maintaining constant flow of data through two information loops (Oracle, 2013). This means that the flow of information should take place between customers and Dell sales team and the other one takes place among sales, procurement and suppliers (Oracle, 2013). Supply chain could be defined as a set of two or more entities involved in the upstream and downstream flow of products, services, finances and information from the source to a consumer (Overbeck, 2009, p.17). It is upstream from the point of view of consumer and the other way around for the source. This definition gives us the idea that the flow of products, services and information is sequential, which means that the output of the first level is the input of the next level. However, due to the existing complexity of relationships involved in the supply chain today, ‘supply network’ was coined (Overbeck, 2009, p.17). According to Hieber (2002), the nature of supply chain is unique (p.130). This is because there is complexity involved within the flow of goods and information between the linked entities in the supply chain. This according to him would require a changing set of priorities from time to time, requiring a high level of responsiveness on the part of the organisation. According to Jones and Tilley (2007), supply chains and management have become potential

Sexual Offenders and Predators Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Sexual Offenders and Predators - Term Paper Example This paper will provide statistical information in the hope to empirically determine whether reporting requirements influence the recidivating behavior of a convicted sex offender or predator. Specifically, this paper will study recidivism rates among registered sex offenders after release from incarceration or from any forms of legal punishment in two different states: 1.) State of California, which last amended registration and notification requirements in 2002; 2.) State of Alaska, which appended new reporting requirements in 2009. The rape and murder of seven year old Megan Kanka by a two-time convicted sex offender Jesse Timmendequas in 1994 spawned the Megan’s Law in 1996. Though Megan’s Law varies from state to state, it only has one general goal anyway: to notify communities when a sex offender resides within their location and to provide them necessary information about the offender (Larson, 2003). Like Megan’s Law, Wetterling Crimes against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act (named after Jacob Wetterling who was murdered when he was eleven) also requires sex offenders to register. The Pam Lychner Sexual Offender Tracking and Identification Act assisted the effort of creating a national database to track down sexual offenders (â€Å"Megan’s Law, registered,† n.d.). Now, the information can be accessed among states. Though registration and notification laws do not serve as a further castigation, they were never offender-friendly. Lawmakers go to argue that the personal interests and privacy of the sex offenders are just the least of the government’s concern compared to the general safety (â€Å"Megan’s Law, registered,† n.d.). Furthermore, information withheld and disclosed is up to the good judgment of the state government (Klaas, 2008). There are only two major ends to these laws: to deter sex offenders to re-offend and to promote public safety. Offenders

Proving Myself to My Studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 4

Proving Myself to My Studies - Essay Example In the process of this, I was able to learn a valuable lesson as well. This lesson that I learned in high school has since stayed with me, and I have made it a point to put my best foot forward in all that I do. Of course, I know that this doesn’t mean that I will be successful in everything that I ever do in life. I will still fall at times and fail at some endeavors just as all humans do. The point is though that even when I do fail, I remember that I have been successful in the past and that if I keep going, I know I will be successful in the future. If my parents hadn’t inspired me to prove myself to them that I was a good student, I might never have learned this important lesson. In the end, proving that I was a good student to my parents showed me that hard work and effort can lead to a better life, both in terms of self-esteem and success. Such a lesson is invaluable, and one that I would not trade for anything in the world. The beginning of high school is always scary. There are new rules, new teachers, and harder classes to deal with. The first day of ninth grade, I struggled with the fear of letting my parents down again. Eighth grade had proven to be something of a disaster as my grades were far lower than my parents expected. This year, I knew that I needed to prove myself to them, to show them that I could get the grades that they believed I was capable of. When I was young, of course, it could be difficult to concentrate on what I should be doing instead of concentrating on what I actually wanted to do. With that in mind, high school was a very distracting place for me as I tried to focus on my studies. My friends were pressuring me to hang out and have fun, which I desperately wanted to do, but imagine the look on my parents’ face when I came home with a report card full of A’s was a bit more tempting than an afternoon of spending time with my friends. Â  

Healthcare Technology Essay Example for Free

Healthcare Technology Essay In such a short period of time we have seen the healthcare industry go from paper tracking to technological tracking. We continue to see healthcare care drastically each year. The article I am reviewing is an article put out by Forbes in the beginning of 2013. Even though we have seen the many transformations when it comes to technology and healthcare, this article touches on five, which I will talk about more here shortly. It is an amazing idea that potentially five years from now that we could be totally paperless in the healthcare world. Four years ago the IT departments of healthcare had a mere $343 million invested considering the potential of what was to come (Forbes, Lee 2013). Since then venture capitalists have tripled their investments into the health care IT and sunk $955 million (Forbes, Lee 2013). The article expresses that the federal government is even going to be sinking some major money into hospitals and medical offices to digitize health care. It all comes to a very good point mentioned in the article. â€Å"All of these VCs are now starting to put money into the space. And as we start getting some big wins, we’re going to see this accelerate,† said Aza Raskin, cofounder of Massive Health — a startup developing a mobile app to encourage healthier eating and other health-related tools — in an interview with Fast Company. â€Å"The smartest minds of our generation shouldn’t be working on getting us more addicted to Facebook or Twitter; they should be working on helpi ng us get — and stay — healthy† (Forbes, Lee 2013). What would people think when they are told that a machine helped their doctor figure out their diagnosis and the best possible treatment for them? Most will think it is absolute craziness, right? Funny that is brought up because researchers with the IBM corporation are currently developing a state of the art computer system that will take a doctors data and come up with the best possible outcome of a diagnosis would be for the patient. They are calling this major technological advancement Watson, and known to the medical field as Dr. Watson (Forbes, Lee 2013). This machine will be able to not only help assess the projected diagnosis of a patient, but also to keep tabs on a patients history, and allow the doctors to keep up with the latest and greatest abilities to treat patients. How often have we all been at work and have had to deal with someone that spoke a language we were unable to understand or speak for that matter? In the medical field it is  hard to track down one person i n a hospital that can speak Cantonese, Russian, German, Japanese, or many other languages that are less frequented in our day to day lives. Well, welcome Omnifluent Health! This product was developed by the Science Applications International Corporation, or the SAIC, to help with translation process in the healthcare field (Forbes, Lee 2013). This is a huge step considering doctors could just whip out there cell phones and ask a question into the microphone and get a quick translation. We would be able to break the language barrier between patients and healthcare workers. We have so many social media sites on the web now a days. Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Twitter, G Plus, and many others. That is how we stay connected to friends and family. Now physicians have a â€Å"physicians only† media site that will allow them to contact one another in regards to taking better care of their patients. It is called Doximity (Forbes, Lee 2013). The funding for the project is at $27 million currently (Forbes, Lee 2013). I hate to have to sit in an ER for hours on end in the middle of the night to be seen for a rapid asthma onset, or with a child running a high fever and vomiting just to be told that there are over the counter remedies available at the 24 hour big box retail giant less than 10 miles away. It would be nice to be able to pop into a chat, or call where I can talk to a healthcare professional about what is going on and have a response without having to get out of a comforting place, like home, and sit for hours in a cold ER waiting room. There is now a system that gives patients the opportunity to have a medical consultation via phone or online. It is a startup company out of New York City called Sherpaa (Forbes, Le e 2013). If you were to type in â€Å"diet apps† in your Google Play Store tons of apps would pop up that are there to help you count calories, track weight loss, track exercise time and calories burned, and so on and so forth. One that the article talks about it Fitbit. It is a pedometer that tracks the sleeping patterns and activities of a person (Forbes, Lee 2013). Another one it talks about is Lark. Lark is a silent alarm clock and sleep monitor that tracks and analyzes the quality of sleep a person gets over time (Forbes, Lee 2013). In this day of technological advances there is no surprise at the countless ones that are in place in regards to the health care industry. With the amount of change from paper charting to digitized charting methods, egg timers on when med  pass is compared to computer pop ups, from easy access to patients meds to secured sign in procedures to acquire the meds, and from sitting in a waiting room for countless hours on end to picking up your phone and making a quick call is all proof that it has been time for a change in medical technology for a long time now. We are entering a new time for health care and to some, it is the era of Health 2.0 (Forbes, Lee 2013) References Lee, Ellen (2013). 5 Ways Technology Is Transforming Health Care. http://www.forbes.com/sites/bmoharrisbank/2013/01/24/5-ways-technology-is-transforming-health-care/

Using Recrystallisation Improve The Purity Of Aspirin Biology Essay

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

Analysing Case Studies Of Mercedes Benz Tesco Marketing Essay

Analysing Case Studies Of Mercedes Benz Tesco Marketing Essay INTRODUCTION Extremely fierce and highly competitive globalised work environment has intensified the apprehensions of business organisations pertaining to the development and implementation of prudently designed business strategies that can ensure their long-term survival and enduring success in the market. It has been observed, that despite of designing smart strategic plans, many business organisations fail to maintain their survival in the market and this is only because of their inability to operationally devise and enact these strategic decisions (Mills, Platts, Bourne and Richards 2002, p. 112). Operation management is strategically important for the business organisations as myriad day-to-day operational activities are responsible for determining the extent to which the key strategic objectives are executed and thereby, constituting long-term organisational success. It has been studied that operation management is all about defining, organising and directing organisational aims and objecti ves through strategically employed operational procedures concerning the organisation (Slack et al 2004, p.67). Several constituting factors including price, quality, service, flexibility and tradeoffs are meant to develop the operational strategy (Slack and Lewis 2002, p. 221) and in order to improve quality, enhanced organisational receptiveness and cost-effectiveness, a wide-ranging operational paradigms have been emerged in recent times (Anderson 2006, p. 56). Supply chain strategy is the crucial element of operation management through which the core operational processes including transportation, logistics and procurement activities are integrated by pulling materials in response to demand patterns and hence, demand uncertainty is avoided and supply chains, inventories and service levels are significantly improved (Slack and Lewis 2002, p. 226). Business organisations also utilise optimum resources and systemic managerial approaches to support quality and innovation in their products and services for which they integrate key operational, procedural and functional systems. Organisations can achieve total quality within their business operations when positive cultural shift is established by knitting strong relational bonds between human capitals and maintaining long-term partnerships with suppliers (Hayes, Pisano, Upton and Wheelwright 2005, p. 119). Operation management paradigm also encompasses the concept of capacity planning through wh ich the organisational management exhibits its competency to foresee the unprecedented events and strategise in advance to circumvent the chances of protracted fiscal damages (Ferguson 2000, p. 65) whereas, the evaluating the extent of orders and thereby, monitoring and determining the required inventory levels and stock replenishment is covered by inventory management model (Anderson 2006, p. 59). The study is designed to illustrate these concepts in a report format by evaluating the comprehensive operation management paradigm. 1.1 Aims Objectives Organisations can achieve enhanced fiscal benefits and customer satisfaction by triggering the process of transforming inputs into outputs with intent to add value to the organisational goals in terms of producing improved products and services (Giannakis and Croom 2004, p. 28). This not only enables in gaining control over systemic planning and management activities but also results in attaining sustainable competitive advantage by maximising organisational productivity. The main objective of this study is to investigate the key concepts and theories of operation management which is considered as the core contributor to the long-term organisational success. The study aims to analyse the corporate and marketing strategies of one service-based and one manufacturing organisation i.e. Tesco and Mercedes by critically discussing the theoretical principles and frameworks covered in operation management paradigm. Moreover, the study also intends to evaluate the blend of theoretical concept s based on the case studies of each organisation in order to assess the relative impacts on their long-term competitiveness, innovation and sustainability. 1.2 Rationale of the Study Operation management is a multidisciplinary approach encompassing the decision making process pertaining to the design, planning and management of all the factors influencing the operational capacity of an organisation (Ferguson 2000, p. 68). Globalisation has shrunk the geographical boundaries and the consumer world has now been exposed to generous information and alternatives to the products and services which have made it extremely intricate for the business organisations to stand-out (Giannakis and Croom 2004, p. 30). The role of operation management becomes crucial in terms of creating, transforming and controlling the productive resources to generate saleable products or services. The scope of this study is to contribute some value to the existing literature pertaining to operation management as the theoretical underpinnings of the subject and the evaluation of case studies are designed to facilitate in developing advance understanding of managing the deployment of operational resources within the incessantly changing globalised business environment to gain competitive advantage. The significance of studying operation management paradigm is equally beneficial to the academia, operations practitioners and contemporary business organisations. Structure of the Report This segment is designed to explicate the structure of the report that is primarily based on comparing and contrasting the theoretical approaches of operation management by prudently evaluating the corporate and marketing strategies based on case studies of two selected organisations. The report is creatively structured and divided into five distinct segments. Initial segment of the report is the introductory part that is meant to develop the foundational grounds of the study by explaining the key objectives and scope of conducting the research. Second segment of the report begins with presentation of company profiles of two selected organisations i.e. Tesco and Mercedes by critically evaluating core operational and transformational processes to assess the adequacy of their strategically devised corporate and marketing initiatives for gaining competitive advantage in the market. Theoretical concepts and frameworks of operation management including supply chain management, capacity pl anning, inventory management and total quality management are appraised in the third segment of the report which intends to justify the arguments by linking the theoretical underpinning with the information extracted from case studies. Fourth segment assesses the application of theoretical concepts on the case studies of selected organisations, in order to investigate relative impacts on the organisational competitiveness, innovation and sustainability in a longer run. The report is terminated in the fifth segment which is designed to logically conclude the overall arguments in a consistent manner. OPERATIONAL TRANSFORMATIONAL PRACTICES Contemporary organisations ought to adapt with the consistently changing trends of the trade world and globalised economies as consumers buying behaviours are gravely affected by the modern operational and transformational procedures. Today, the entrenchment of innovativeness, technology and advance quality of products and services have become crucially significant to the operation management process for gaining competitive advantage in the market (Anderson 2006, p. 57). 2.1 Case Study I: Mercedes Benz The strategic alliance of Daimler-Benz with Chrysler in 1998 lead to establish DaimlerChrysler AG, which is now recognised as one of the leading and most promising automobile companies across the globe. The luxury German car manufacturing company enjoys its humungous presence by operating in 104 countries whilst selling its products in approximately 200 countries through more than 13,000 sales outlets within the globalised economic arena (Mercedes 2011). Mercedes is primarily engaged in the manufacturing, distribution and sales activities related to its wide range of uniquely designed and technologically advanced automotive products including passenger cars and commercial vehicles and on the other hand, the company also offers financing solutions (Mercedes 2011). In accordance with the key statistics as illustrated in its Annual Report (2002), the company has generated revenues of  £130.80 billion and employs more than 365,600 employees worldwide (Mercedes 2011). The world renowned BMW, Lexus, Toyota, Volkswagen and General Motors are amongst its core competitors. 2.1.2 Analysing the Corporate Marketing Strategies The corporate strategy of Mercedes Benz is focussed on enhanced quality and reliability of its products and services by stressing on The best or nothing strategy (Mercedes 2011). Presently, the company has been observed to raise its profile in fleet car sales by 17% in 2010 and further 11% by 2011 with intent to prevail over every operational segment unlike its premium rivals that are focussed on tax-cutting low CO2 models within market that is tightly up just under 2% (Mercedes Annual Report 2008). Studies suggest that the operations tasks can be articulated by identifying five operations performance objectives as for instance, lowering the pricing strategy necessitates substantial reduction in operational costs or speedy customer services require swift operational procedures and; as improving product quality demands for advancement in the areas concerning innovation, design and technology (Slack et al 2004, p. 119). Mercedes have been experiencing quality control problems due to it s batteries, alternators and brakes integrated in its several models made since 2001, that were quiet obvious especially after the biggest product recalls in 2005, indicating that the company is exceedingly losing its loyal consumer base (BBC 2006). The company has introduced technologically sophisticated gadgetry in its S-class cars range in parallel to its pledge for being the market leader in terms of quality and reliability however; several business analysts have identified the electronic gremlins might further impair companys image by alienating its existing consumer base (Mercedes Annual Report 2007). With respect to its marketing strategy, Mercedes is focussed on Ambition to lead by particularly emphasising on 6Ps of marketing i.e. product, price, promotion, place, people and process. Massive improvements have been observed in its product designs and technologies especially in E and S class ranges by introducing higher-rate springs, stabiliser audio, navigation, trip computer and telephone consoled steering wheels (Bilich and Neto 2000, p. 9). Pricing has also been revised to attract people from middle class and the strategy is complimented by moving its manufacturing and operational units in Asian countries to reduce the production and distribution costs. Aggressive promotional strategy has been embraced by the company whilst targeting wide-ranging consumer base through effective marketing campaigns that are focussed on product features including CLS or Blue-Efficiency campaigns and on the other hand, marketing campaigns are exceedingly supported by comprehensive print, TV, online and media communications (Holweg, Disney, Hines, Naim 2005, p. 514). 2.2 Case Study II: Tesco Plc. Deeply penetrated within the competitive retailing sector in UK, Tesco celebrates its substantial existence by covering approximately 90% of UK market alone with an annual turnover of more than $1 billion which makes it the largest online grocer across the globe (Palmer 2005, p. 25). In accordance with the Nielsen/Netrating audience panel for September (2007), that investigated 25,000 demographically representative households in the UK for the top supermarkets, Tesco leads the online market share by holding 27.1% followed by Asda, Sainsbury and Waitrose holding 10.1%, 6.9% and 4.2% shares respectively (Nielsen/Netrating 2007). On the other hand, Tesco was again spotted at the top position with 30.9% offline market share followed by Asda and Sainsbury having 16.9% and 16.4% shares respectively (Nielsen/Netrating 2007). The company principally deals with food and grocery items and has also diversified into non-food ranges including clothing, books, electronics, dieting clubs, flights a nd holidays, music downloads, gas and electricity (Palmer 2005, p. 27). Asda, Sainsbury and Waitrose are the core competitors of the company. 2.1 Analysing the Corporate Marketing Strategies Unlike others in UK, Tesco is the only retailer that has successfully managed to survive and expand in the contemporary globalised economies by maintaining its corporate strategy closely knitted by a six dimensional approach for enhanced growth in worldwide market (Data monitor 2003). Tesco embraces the strategy of designing its products by carefully analysing the local market needs and remain increasingly adaptive to the environment of indigenous markets. Tesco believes in highly focussed and long-term strategies with multi-format approach and shared knowledge structure. The most crucial aspect of its corporate strategy is the deployment of time and patience to build the brand image without being distracted by its growth pattern in its primary market. Followed by its corporate strategy of aggressively expanding in the international market, Tesco became the first UK retailer to break through the  £2 billion profit barrier (Data monitor 2004). The marketing strategy of Tesco is high ly innovative in terms of introducing reward points to the customers during shopping which can be later exchanged by valued products. In addition to this, the company has significantly acknowledged the need for integrating e-technologies within its marketing campaigns and thereby, launched Tesco applications that has made its products instantly accessible to the targeted consumer base through mobile phones and also keep them updated with new deals and discounted offers (Data monitor 2004). Tesco diet is another interactive web page which is meant to educate the consumers about healthy eating and thereby, unconsciously persuading them to buy the food items offered by the company. Tesco also improved its out-bound logistics by hiring cheerful and highly cooperative staff for online delivery orders, which serve as the face of the company and are also trained to market their products and new offers in a cataleptic manner (Kotler, Armstrong, Saunders and Wong 2001, p. 169). The company a lso employs print and electronic media for the marketing of its products and also utilises social networking websites and blogging as integral tools of promotions in the contemporary business world. The most significant aspect of Tescos marketing mix strategy is its personalisation strategy as the company has maintained a separate online marketing department that is meant to send personalised messages via emails and sms to ensure that their customers never miss their latest offers and new products (Palmer 2005, p. 33). THEORETICAL JUSTIFICATIONS BASED ON CASE STUDIES Operation management is all about interlinking a wide-range of processes and procedures including manufacturing, distribution, marketing and all other significant methods to maximise sales and achieve core organisational objectives. Size and nature of business operations are extremely significant in terms of determining the operational, functional and transformational capacity (Handfield and Bechtel 2002, p. 371). This segment of the report is aimed to critically analyse the theories and concepts pertaining to operation management paradigm whilst analysing the capacity planning, supply chains, inventory control and total quality management in each of the selected organisations. 3.1 Evaluating Supply Chains of Mercedes Tesco Closely knitted web of manufacturing, distribution and other production activities forms the supply chain of an organisation with intent to obtain the manufactured materials, modify them into finished products and distribute them in the targeted market in order to meet the consumers demand (Holweg, Disney, Hines and Naim 2005, p. 512). Literature suggests that business organisations can significantly benefit by creating four dimensional values in their supply chains including customers, planning and performances, processes and intangible resources (Kaplan and Norton 2004, p. 102). Whilst catering condense market segment, Mercedes has been focussed on creating value in its supply chain, primarily by embracing three main supply chain strategies including just-in-time, lean manufacturing and built-to-order strategy for a larger consumer base that is unwilling to wait for two to 3 weeks delivery time thereby, enhancing customer satisfaction (Holweg et al 2005, p. 512). On the other hand, the company has also adopted a plan for catering lower-income customers by producing affordable car ranges and espousing cost-effective manufacturing process. Tesco has also been vigilantly focussing on creating value in their supply chains by low-cost leadership, synchronisation and lean thinking, employee-empowerment initiatives and customer-centric approach (Griffith 2002). Capacity Planning by Mercedes Tesco The continuously evolving business trends of contemporary globalised economies have made it extremely significant for the business organisations to improve their aptitudes for capacity planning. Through capacity planning, organisations gather, maintain and analyse the optimum information regarding the utilisation of its tangible and intangible resources to meet and exceed their core organisational objectives (Anderson 2006, p. 93). However, it is crucially important to determine the investment required for capacity planning (Gox 2002, p. 62), as it has been studied that underinvestment in capacity can substantially reduce revenues whereas, an overinvestment might result in excess capacity which may produce serious consequential effects on the fixed costs (Henderson and Cool 2003, p. 397). Mercedes has successfully employed capacity planning initiatives by investigating North American region for the feasibility of producing luxury sports utility vehicle which significantly minimised c ombined labor, shipping, and components cost and further reduced the penalties associated with currency fluctuations (Holweg, Disney, Hines, Naim, 2005, p. 518). On the other hand, Tesco expanded its order-processing capacity by foreseeing its rapidly growing online sales and integrated BizTalk system that process 5,000 orders per hour which remarkably increased performance efficiency without the need to expand hardware configuration and also reduced system maintenance costs (Norris 2007). Mercedes Tescos TQM Strategies Quality has been recognised as the most critical element of the operation management and is considered to be a macro function of organisations that has to be entrenched within the decision making process, allocation of resources, definition of priorities and most importantly within service delivery (Bilich and Neto 2000, p. 5). It has also been studied, that survival of the organisations in the contemporary business world necessitates total quality management established at all levels (Djerdjour and Patel 2000, p. 26). Mercedes core organisational values heavily rely upon quality, safety and reliability however; the companys image was seriously threatened when its position dropped to 26th spot in quality segment of auto manufacturing (Business Week 2003). It has been observed that the Mercedes significantly deviated from its core strategies and was more inclined towards innovation and technology which has tremendously shaken its loyal consumer base indicating the unfavourable implica tions of undervaluing quality management approaches. The TQM strategy of Tesco is primarily focussed on two main areas including: (i) process improvement by systemic approach and; (ii) development and standardisation of management systems for functional activities throughout the organisation (Delaney-Klinger, Boyer and Frohlich 2003, p. 187). By analysing the TQM strategy of both the organisations it can be instituted that the benefits of TQM can be maximised by entrenching it within the internal and external organisational processes, resources and facilities (Djerdjour and Patel 2000, p. 34). Mercedes Tescos Approach towards Inventory Control The role of inventory management is extremely significant as lower inventory levels can increase the transportation outlays followed by smaller and irregular loads. Business organisations can effectively reduce the costs to logistics through supply chain optimisation by planning to meet the demands of consumer base. It has been studied that ineffective routing and scheduling of orders can adversely influence transport costs (Cooke 2000). In accordance with its inventory management approach, Mercedes identified approximately 100 sites in 35 state of US which is closer to its primary market and since major part of its products were intended to export therefore, the company chose the sites near seaports, rail lines, and major highways to control the costs for transportation (Holweg, Disney, Hines, Naim 2005, p. 523). Studies suggest that transportation is the single most prominent cost category in logistics which can dramatically facilitate in cost saving (Giblin 2001). On the other han d, Tesco being market leader of retail business in UK, necessitates embracing technological advancements in terms of maintaining its position within the extremely concentrate market. Therefore, Tesco has embraced smart shelf technology by adopting RFID system which enables the staff to locate the items in real-time and also improve the on-shelf availability by timely replenishments thereby, saving time and costs for additional staff (Thomas 2003). APPLICATION EVALUATION OF OM THEORIES ON STRATEGIC MIX This part of the report is aimed to highlight the strategic mix pertaining to the concepts and theoretical frameworks of operation management as applied on the competitiveness, innovation and sustainability of selected organisations. The effectiveness of operation management strategies is usually determined by evaluating the key factors like cost, quality, delivery and flexibility (Mills, Platts, Bourne and Richards 2002, p. 130) however, it is important to note that the contemporary business world that has now liberated from the limitations of geographical boundaries needs the integration of advanced technological solutions to stand-out in the global markets (Khamalah and Lingaraj 2007, p. 976). 4.1 Competitiveness Mercedes manufactures high-valued and technically advanced cars by particularly focussing on the development of car engines and producing wide-ranging transport facilities from cars to jeeps and other commercial vehicles which enables the company to cater almost every segment of the market. Merger of European and American companies makes Mercedes well acquainted by the consumer markets belonging to two different tastes and culture (Elvin, Hendricks and Singhal 2001, p. 274). The company continues its competitiveness by its remarkable supply change management as it maintains close ties with its key suppliers for instance, during the worldwide fiscal turmoil in early nineties when organisations were obligated to negotiate pricing strategy, it was quiet obvious that both the company and its suppliers shared equivalent dependability on each other (Hayes, Pisano, Upton and Wheelwright 2005, p. 133). Despite of operating in a highly concentrated market, Tesco has achieved a leading positio n as the company has radically improved its operation management strategies by adopting lower pricing and absolute quality control through compensating full costs of the product, if found damaged (Tesco 2010). The company also maintains its competitiveness by proffering secure transaction opportunities in case of online shopping, timely delivery of products at the door-step and efficient staff that is adequately trained to offer excellent customer services. 4.1 Innovation Mercedes allocates a humungous investment of more than $47billion on its research and development which substantiates its organisational objectives to meet and exceed the consumers expectations pertaining to advanced technology and innovative solutions. The company is also exhibiting keen interest in developing contemporary designs within competitive price whilst maintaining its assertive and risk-taking behaviour which indicates its thirst for improved quality in its products and services (Kaynak 2003, p. 426). The innovativeness of products characterised by radio frequency identification system of tagging its products or advanced data processing system; Tesco exhibits its commitment to enhance the consumer buying experience through innovation (Norris 2007). By introducing highly interactive and advantageous innovations like Tesco club cards, Tesco applications, talking Tesco and Tesco diet; the company has notably penetrated within diversified consumers market segments. 4.3 Sustainability The strong market presence characterised by more than 25-30 dealerships in each of its operational territories, Mercedes ensures that its within the consumers reach (Bilich and Neto 2000, p. 7). In addition to this, a luxurious brand image of Mercedes along with its quality standards, enhanced security and tremendous reliability for many years has established a loyal consumer base. The company principally operates in economies of scale and as the level of sales rises the unit cost decreases which substantially circumvent the threats of new entrants in the market thereby, accentuating its long-term sustainability (Bilich and Neto 2000, p. 13). On the other hand, Tesco has not refrained from diversifying into non-food categories and has expanded its operations into other market segments including clothing, electronics, financing and others which determines that the company has the aptitude to take risk and maintain its survival on long-term basis. Tesco maintains a strong brand value w hich has been indicated by its tremendous rise in profitability by 78% through successful operations in Europe, Asia and Ireland (Usunier 2000, p. 177). CONCLUDING REMARKS The report has critically appraised on the theoretical frameworks pertaining to operation management by explicating its key components including inventory control, supply chains, capacity planning and total quality management. Case studies of one manufacturing company i.e. Mercedes and one service-based company i.e. Tesco; have been profoundly investigated to evaluate the impacts of operation management theories and application; on the innovation, competitiveness and sustainability of these organisations. To conclude, it can be stated that both Mercedes and Tesco are market leaders within their territories and the analytical report suggests that their success lies within their strategic deployment of operational and functional processes.

Individual and Society: The Womens Movement Essay -- Essays Papers

Individual and Society: The Women's Movement The role of women is like any other factor that determines the advancement of society as a whole; it is continually changing and affecting its surroundings at the same time. From beginning as unimportant citizens, to creating a strong feminist movement, to the "picture-perfect," subservient housewife, and finally to an opinionated, self-sufficient human being who has a variety of options, women have drastically changed their role in a male-dominated society. It is through these several stages of history that the significance of women's rights has progressed and presently placed them in positions with power. As a group, women have survived tremendous variations in lifestyles, showing their importance as individuals in society. Historically, women have moved from being one of the lowest statures in culture to a dignified class of people who are now nearly equivalent to men. It is the nature of human beings, though, to not always defend and follow the laws of society and thus discrimination against women still exists. However, the development of women's rights has come a long way since the limited views held by those in power in the Old Regime. The basic philosophy of earlier times showed no consideration for the female sex and little concern for their well-being. Not until the women's movement, which began around the mid-nineteenth century, did women start to progress as an individual group demanding rights and privileges. The Seneca Falls Convention of 1848 met "to consider the social, civil, and religious condition and rights of women."(1) Beginnings of a stage of realization for the need for improvement were starting to appear and a willingness to attempt to better their st... ...le River: Prentince Hall, 1997), 493. 8. Betty Friedan, "The Feminine Mystique (1963)" in Perry M. Rogers, ed., Aspects of Western Civilization: Problems and Sources in History. (Upper Saddle River: Prentince Hall, 1997), 508. 9. Betty Friedan, "The Feminine Mystique (1963)" in Perry M. Rogers, ed., Aspects of Western Civilization: Problems and Sources in History. (Upper Saddle River: Prentince Hall, 1997), 509. 10. "United Nations Declaration of Women's Rights (1967)" in Perry M. Rogers, ed., Aspects of Western Civilization: Problems and Sources in History. (Upper Saddle River: Prentince Hall, 1997), 510. 11. "United Nations Declaration of Women's Rights (1967)" in Perry M. Rogers, ed., Aspects of Western Civilization: Problems and Sources in History. (Upper Saddle River: Prentince Hall, 1997), 511-512.

Thinking and Decision Making Essay -- Critical Thinking

Thinking and Decision Making When it comes to the reasoning and problem solving of any issue there are various ways to come to a decision; thinking is the mental process that allows the people in the world to deal with it effectively, according to set goals, plans, ideas, and desires. Thinking involves the gathering of information that forms concepts and engages in problem solving, reasoning, and making precise decisions for the benefit of whom is concerned. Thinking according to Kirby and Goodpaster (2007),"is an internal mental process that uses information as input, integrates that information into previous learned material and the result may be knowledge or may be nothing". Creative thinking, logical thinking, and persuasive thinking are three types of thinking. Each of these types of thinking affects the critical thinking process in various ways. The three thinking types will be compared and contrasted, as well as applied to affects they have in the critical thinking process. Every person has a primary style of thinking that is used most to help in his or her decisions. Finally, critical thinking will be applied to the decision making process by using workplace examples. Creative Thinking This is one of the types of thinking styles. Creative thinking involves creating something new or original. It involves the skills of flexibility, originality, fluency, elaboration, brainstorming, modification, imagery, associative thinking, attribute listing, metaphorical thinking, and forced relationships. The aim of creative thinking is to stimulate curiosity and promote divergence. When an individual learns to expand their way of thinking to incorporate metaphorical ideas, they will spark the creative thinking process... ... way. The important thing is that we become more aware of which learning style and thinking style works best for us. Once we know our own style, we can then analyse the others. This will help us understand other people better. It will make us more flexible. And perhaps we can all pick up tips from each other on how to be more effective. References Kirby, G.R. & Goodpaster, J.R. (2007) Creative Thinking. Fourth Edition Thinking. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Albrecht, K. (1984) Brain Building: Easy Games to develop your problem solving skills. Prentice Hall. Audiblox. (n.d.). Logical thinking: Helping children to become smarter. Web. 23 Mar. 2015. http://www.audiblox.com/logical_thinking.htm Schafersman, S. D. (1991). Critical thinking: Introduction to Critical Thinking. Web. 23 Mar. 2015. http://www.freeinquiry.com/critical-thinking.html

Creon as the Tragic Hero in Sophocles Antigone Essay example -- Antig

Creon as the Tragic Hero in Antigone     Ã‚   This essay will compare two of the characters in â€Å"Antigone†, Antigone and Creon, in an effort to determine the identity of the tragic hero in this tale.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To identify the tragic hero in Sophocles’ renowned play â€Å"Antigone†, we should first consider both the elements present in Greek tragedies and what characteristics define a tragic hero. Aristotle’s definition of tragedy is: â€Å"Tragedy is a story taking the hero from happiness to misery because of a fatal flaw or mistake on his part. To be a true tragic hero he must also elicit a strong emotional response of pity and fear from the audience. This is known as catharsis or purging of emotion.† In most cases the tragic hero begins the play with high status, which is often lost in the exodus of the play. For example, in another of Sophocles’ plays, â€Å"Oedipus Rex†, in which Oedipus is the undisputed tragic hero, Oedipus begins the play as an illustrious king and ends as a blind beggar. His plight encourages sympathy from the audience because of the curse that had been on him since he was a chil d.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Antigone, to whom the play owes its name, is daughter of Oedipus, the former king of Thebes. It would seem that she has a relatively high position for a woman, based on the fact that she has a marriage tie to Haemon, son of Creon, the present king of Thebes.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Antigone, rather than being happy at the plays’ beginning, instead makes her entrance in the opening scene very upset with the order given by Creon not to bury her brother Polynices. Antigone is then caught while burying Polynices and seems almost content with being put to death, â€Å"I earned the punishment which I now suffer† (Antigone, 152), though... ...† In Twentieth Century Interpretations of Oedipus Rex, edited by Michael J. O’Brien. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968. Heidegger, Martin. â€Å"The Ode on Man in Sophocles’ Antigone.† In Sophocles: A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by Thomas Woodard. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966. Jaeger, Werner. â€Å"Sophocles’ Mastery of Character Development.† In Readings on Sophocles, edited by Don Nardo. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1997. Segal, Charles. Oedipus the King: Tragic Heroism and the Limits of Knowledge. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1993. Sophocles. Antigone. Exploring Literature: Writing and thinking About Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and the Essay. Ed. Joseph Terry. New York: Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers Inc, 2001. Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. Trans. Bernard M. W. Knox. New York: Washi ngton Squ are Books, 1994.

Madonna and Child Essay

Giovanni Bellini was an Italian Renaissance painter who is known for his oil-painting technique and his use of vibrant colors. The Renaissance was a period in which a cultural revolution or movement was taking place; it started out in Italy and spread out through other parts of Western Europe. Bellini’s various works echo the voices of the Renaissance and different aspects of the movement. During the Renaissance, religion was an integral factor in society; as a result, it was very much involved in the art and culture. Bellini’s famous Madonna and Child is originally a religious painting which is believed to depict the Virgin Mary and Jesus, causing popularity and appeal amongst the religious audience of the time. A compelling message behind this painting is the affection and serenity present; even though it is not overly emotional; the connection between the Virgin Mary and Jesus is evident. To a more modern and general audience, this painting could be considered from an extended perspective. Madonna and Child could possibly be a general depiction of a mother and her child. In light of the Renaissance, this painting could be decoded to show the relationship between women and children and how children were viewed as the sole concern or job of women. The position of the hands in a submissive manner could mean that women comprehend or surrender to their obligations of being mothers first and foremost. An underlying message is possibly to inform the masses regarding the nature of the relationship that binds women and children; a bond that is indispensable to society. In Madonna and Child, Bellini uses oil paint on a wooden canvas. He resorts to a black background in order to bring out the colors and exaggerate the focus on the central figures. The features on both figures are very precise and careful which shows great technique. Also, the colors in the painting stand out to anyone that looks towards the painting which gives it an aura that is different than other less colorful paintings of the time. With a closer look, the colors and aspects of the painting resemble different things when put into context of its time and place. Although not prominent, the use of green shows honor, integrity and respect. The red; however, which is the most protuberant, brings attention to the drapery which is a sign of high rank and importance. The white, as always, signifies purity and transparency. The use of color is, possibly, the most obvious and visible channel between the creator of a painting and the painting’s audience. Therefore, much detail should be given to the colors and shades in order to further understand the memorandum of a painting. Bellini also chooses to keep the painting very simple rather than add other symbols or representations. In other versions of his Madonna and Child, he usually painted a landscape in the background and placed a few objects. Perhaps the reason Bellini chose not to do that in this version of the painting was to not distract the audience from the concentration of the painting and to bring the two figures out more. He might have thought that the less it contained, the more powerful it would be. When contrasted with other artists’ Madonna and Child, this painting appears to be quite different. While the central religious message remains in all versions of the painting, Bellini resorts to different elements when compared to Duccio di Buoninsegna for instance. In Buoninsegna’s Madonna and Child, the features are less detailed and intricate and the colors are not as vibrant. Also, there is more affection in Buoninsegna’s version which is manifested in the way the Virgin Mary is holding Jesus and the way Jesus is reaching for her face. Bellini’s Madonna and Child is an exquisite version of the painting which serves as a milestone in Christian art. His technique and use of color add to its uniqueness and distinctiveness. Even though it dates back to the Renaissance, and functions in the religious context of the time, this Madonna and Child still appeals to the eyes of modern audience.