INDIVIDUAL INTERNATIONAL INTERVIEW & PAPER Assignment

INDIVIDUAL INTERNATIONAL INTERVIEW & PAPER - Assignment Example It lies within the latitudes 24 and 37 degree north and longitude 62 and 75 degree east. The country consists of five provinces - Baluchistan, Punjab, Sind, Khyber Pakhtun Khwa and Gilgit/Baltistan - and its capital is named Islamabad. Pakistan has one of the richest and most diverse cultures in the world. It is because this land had seen a number of invaders in the past including Whites, Persians, Turks and Mongols who had spread their own culture across this land. For this very reason we get to see diversity in culture throughout Pakistan with different ethnic groups having their own preferences when it comes to food, dressing, lifestyle etc. Increased globalization has brought further diversity to the country with Western culture increasingly being adopted by the people (â€Å"Pakistan Culture†, 2009). Ali himself comes from a Westernized background with many of his friends educated abroad, who love hanging out at international food chains and who openly drink. This defies my research since I found that alcohol was banned in Pakistan. But then there are so many things that are banned in the US too but still people do them. Religion shapes many of the Pakistan’s customs. ... Employment forms in Pakistan range from menial labor to jobs at multinational companies. The minimum wage per month of a Pakistani is Rs.10,000 (USD 100) and that is why many families live below the poverty line. Entrepreneurship has seen a rise in recent times and many people have switched to self created jobs. Induction of multinationals have brought good fortune to locals and created highly paid jobs. But people like Ali have moved out of the country for better job opportunities and better lifestyles. Since Pakistan is a developing country, the road network is not that of an international standard and is absent in much part of the country. Public transportation through buses is the most common means of traveling, with the slightly stable families using motor bikes and the ones economically sound use petrol and gas driven cars. Pakistan also has a sound air that connects cities and countries. Though a railway network is also present, the experience is not worth trying, says Ali. In frastructure within Pakistan varies from city to city. From mud houses to high rises, one can find it all. The metropolitan city homes a number of high rises and is a safe abode for businesses and other activities. Recently a sky-scraper by the name of Centaurus and designed by a British architectural company was officially inaugurated in the capital city. These developments hold a brighter future for the country’s growth and economy. Pakistan is one of the two countries of the world, made on religious lines of Islam and that is what is practiced by the majority of citizens. Almost 98% of Pakistanis are Muslim while the remaining 2% are either Hindu, Christians or other minority groups. My research led me to believe that Pakistanis were taken by religion in every aspects of life but

Geologic Time Scale Tourism Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Geologic Time Scale Tourism Project - Essay Example The period Permian which ended roughly 252 million years ago marked the end of the Palezonic era. It was immediately preceded by the Triassic period and immediately followed by the Carboniferous period. Evidence of the Permian period has been found in eastern part of Imperial Russia. During the Permian period the supercontinent (Pangea) was formed as different land masses joined together to form a single unit. The formation of Pangea occurred over a long period of time and ended with collision between Siberia-Kazakhstania, Laurasia, and China as noted by Kazlev (2002). With the formation of one landmass, there water masses correspondingly joined to form one massive ocean called Panthalassa. As the supercontinent formed, the sea level dropped and warm shallow seas that existed at the time reduced in extent (Gradstein, Ogg & Smith, 2004). The supercontinent that was so formed took the shape of a giant pacman. The mouth of the â€Å"pacman† faced east, enclosing part of the ocean to form a smaller sea. A sea called the Tethys covered a major part of what now constitutes Central and Southern Europe. The Zechstein sea which covered present time Europe was an extremely salty inland sea that existed in the Permian period. The extremely salty conditions that prev ailed near and around the Zechstein sea only allowed a few plant species to thrive, mainly bivalves and brachiopods (Kazlev, 2002). Apart from the establishment of the supercontinent, super-ocean, and salty seas, the Permian period saw the establishment of a groups of mountains as a result of plate tectonics. During the Uralian Orogeny, for example, the Ural Mountains were formed as the Siberian plat Kazakhstania and Pangaea collided (Gradstein, Ogg & Smith, 2004). At the beginning of the Permian era, the climate was extremely cold and many parts of the earth was covered in ice. However, the formation of Pangaea brought with it extreme climate and environmental changes owing to

Problems of Water Supply in the Rural Communities of Nigeria

Problems of Water Supply in the Rural Communities of Nigeria Problems of Water Supply in the Rural Communities of Delta State, Nigeria Abstract This study assess the problem of rural water supply in Delta slate with the main aim of examining the factors responsible for the incidence of ineffective water supply to the rural communities of Delta state, Nigeria. Questionnaire survey was the instrument of data generation and a total of 500 questionnaires were administered to 10 rural communities of the state. The data were analyzed with descriptive and multiple regression analyses and the following constitutes as the observations as follows: erratic power supply, embezzlement of fund, diversion of hydraulic equipment, theft, government policy, indiscriminate wastage/carelessness, poor maintenance culture, fruity hydraulic equipment and loss by evaporation. Introduction Studies on water resources have concentrated on urban setting to the detriment of rural communities (Adesuyi, 1996; Adebola, 2001; Ovrawah and Hymore, 2001 and Efe, 2003). For instance, there is absolute absence of water schemes in most rural communities of Delta state e.g. Otorho-Abraka, Samagidi/Kokori, Abbi, Anwai etc., even when they exist, they are non-functioning. Thus, most women and school children balanced basin, buckets, 20-50litres Geri cans on their head and trek long distances to streams, rivers, wells and bore holes. The varied water sources result in consumers spending many hours waiting for water or carrying water to their homes. For example, in Anwai the delay in getting water from private bores is detrimental to the study regime of students of the Delta State University, Anwal Campus. The inadequate water supply has resulted in water borne disease largely because of the supply misappropriation of fund, diversion of water scheme, erratic power supply amongst other (Efe, 2003). This problem becomes more acute in recent times as a result of increased population. Thus, this work seek to investigate: the factors militating against effective water supply, study the cost of each water supply scheme, study time spent on obtaining water on daily as a social cost; and study response to ameliorate the problems. Study Area Delta state lies between longitude 5 °E and 6 °45E and latitudes 5 °N and 6 °30’N and has landmass areas of 16,842km Square. Delta state lies within the Benin, Agbada and Akata formation in terms of geology (see fig.1). The state is drain by river Niger, and its distributaries (Forcados, Escravos and Warn river and creeks), Jamieson and Ethiope (www.on1ine.nigeria.com 2312/05). River Niger drains the eastern flank of the state and empty it water into the sea. Delta state has a population of about 2,590 491, where about 75% of her population lives in rural areas (1991 census), without good access to potable water. The state is divided into three seaatorial districts: Delta North, 793,517; Delta central with a population 936,707 and Delta South, 865,540 population (Omaksone, 2004). Methodology This work-utilised data generated through direct fieldwork exercises. The instrument of data generation is the questionnaire administration. The questionnaire was administered through systematic sampling technique. On the whole, a total of 50 questionnaires were administered to eh community, making a total of 500 respondents that were interviewed. The data were analysed with the aid of multiple regression analysis and descriptive statistics. Data Analysis and Discussion of Results Source of Water Supply Different types of water supply sources exdist in the study for effective utilisation of the respondents as follows (See table 1) Table 1: Sources of rural water supply in Delta State Source: Author’s fieldwork, 2005. Table I indicates that 39% of the rural inhabitants of these communities obtain their drinking water from Rain Water Harvesting, 24% from river or stream who carried the water through long distances, 14% from Wells, 13% from private boreholes who make a charge to households on the water supplied, 9% from Tankers which supply water to homes from long distances, and 1% from state owned boreholes who provide free water services to the households. Most of the water sources are owned and maintained by private individuals. For instance out of the 72 boreholes in table 1, it is only 3 that are owned and maintained by State Government. These bores are found in Patani, Ozoro, Anwai. This represents only 4% of the boreholes in these communities. The State owned boreholes are very irregular in their water supply. Essentially, there are times Quantity, Distance, Time and Cost of Water Table 2 show the volume of water supply to each household, distance and time spent in obtaining water from the various sources. On daily basis, an average of 80 litres of Rain Water are harvested whenever it rains. This recorded the highest volumes of water obtained by each household. About 30minutes are spent on the average whenever it rains by each household fetching water. Table 3: Average time and daily demand of water per household It is observed from table 3 that Well Water recorded 35 litres of water obtained by each household at a time and distance of 1hours 30minutes and 1km respectively. The volume of well water obtained by each household is attributed to the long distance and time spent, hence reduction in the quantity of supplied. According the inhabitants because they cannot afford the price of Borehole water, we resort to trekking distance places and spending long time as well carrying water from Wells and Streams the various houses. Similarly, the long time and distance spent in obtaining water from streams reduces the quantity of stream water supply. This show an average of 30litres of stream water supply at a time and distance of 2hours and 1 V2 km respectively spent in obtaining stream or river water by each household. Thus, the higher the distance and time spent in obtaining water from these sources reduces the volumes of water demanded by each household (See fig, 2). For instance it is clear from these communities (Otorho, Ozoro, Ekpan-Ovu, Kokoro and Patani) in fig.2 that as the time expended in obtaining domestic water increases, the quantity of water demanded by the inhabitants of these communities decreases. Though the water from these sources is free, but there is economic cost to the water as children, women and students in most of these communities spend a considerable time carrying water to meet their need, which time they could have expended in earning income. Fig. 2: Domestic water consumption and time required for well water and stream water collected at Otorho-Abraka, Kokori Ekpan-Ovu, Ozoro and Patani Similarly, it also reduces the time they could have expended in household labour amongst other activities. However, the cost of water from boreholes and tankers led to the reduction in volumes of water obtained from boreholes and water tankers. Factors of Ineffective Water Supply The respondents generally agreed that in all the rural communities they experienced acute problem of water supply. Essentially, they observed that the factors that are responsible for the problem of water supply relates to erratic power supply, embezzlement of fund/corruption, diversion of hydraulic equipment/political factors, theft, government policy, indiscriminate wastage/carelessness, poor maintenance culture, faulty distribution system and topography of the areas (See table 4). Table 4: Correlation co-efficient between acute problem of water supply and the associated factors responsible. Source: Author’s Fieldwork, 2005 The results of the correlation statistics shows that the problem of inadequate water supply to the rural communities of Delta State, rely heavily on the predictive factors The individual explanatory contributions of each of this predictive model are discussed below. Erratic power is the highest explanatory factor of inadequate water supply. This is evident from a positive correlation coefficient of 0.48 (see table 4). This is significant at 0.05 confidence level, This shows a positive contribution, and as such the problem of water supply became worsen with increasing epileptic power supply to these communities. For instance most of these communities resort to the use of self-generating plant to pump the water through self-help efforts. But as a result of hike in prices of petroleum products, the generating plant was abandoned, hence acute shortage of water supply to these communities. The second contributory is embezzlement of fund, which shows a correlation coefficient of 0.39, thus water problems became more acute as more funds meant for water projects are embezzled. For examples there are series of complains by the rural inhabitants that huge amount of money has been released for the sitting of water projects by the successive government. But such projects are either not undertaken due to embezzlement of fund or they are poorly executed. As such, most of the hydraulic projects packed up soon after commissioning. The third predicative factors affecting acute supply of water in the rural communities of Delta State is the diversion of hydraulic project or political factor. This indicates a positive correlation coefficient of 0.35. For instance, water projects meant for Otorho Abraka, Abavo, Samagidi etc has been diverted to personal compound or to other villages because these communities did not vote for them during the last political dispensation. Theft of hydraulic equipment is the fourth predictive factor of water supply with positive correlation coefficient of 0.33. This indicates that as more hydraulic equipment are stolen or vandalized, the problem of water supply to the area will become more acute For instance the generating plants and submersible pump at Emevo, Otorho — Abraka, have been vandalized. Thus, the acute problems of water supply in these in these rural communities of Delta State. Another causal factor is the lack of laudable government policy of water supply for all (b oth rural and urban areas of the state). This factor shows weak positive effects of 0.22 correlation coefficient. The state, local government and ministry of water resources in Delta state, have not made concerted effort to actualise this policy, to them they are constraints with the problem of finance and high price of hydraulic equipments. Another identified factor of inadequate water supply is indiscriminate wastage arid careless use of water. This indicates correlation coefficient values of 0.12. In some of the rural communities (Patani, Ozoro, and Anwai) where there is existence of public tap, it is not uncommon to find children and some adults, attempting to drink direct from household and public taps without using a container. At times, the children forget to lock the tap back after usage. In this way, they waste the greater portion of the water, and the wasted water is depended on pressure of the area. This view collaborated the work of Oyabande (1981) in the city of Jos. Lack of good maintenance culture is another causal factor in the areas where there is public water supply. It shows weak correlation coefficient of 0.04. For instance, most of the equipments are old and absolute and some of the pipes are corroded, without replacement. As such, there is frequent breakdown of†¢ the equipment. Similar to this factor, is faulty hydraulic and distributing system. Due to corrosion and old age of the pipe lines there are many leakages from these pipelines and finihy fitting in tank. This indicated an inverse effect on effective water supply. This is evident from a correlation coefficient of —0.35. The topography of the area recorded the list amongst the predictive factors of water problem. This shows an inverse correlation coefficient of —0.50. This factor is most severe in Delta north senatorial district (Anwal, Uineunede and Abavo) communities. For examples at Anwai it takes up 200 — 250 feet depth before the aquifer can be stroke, at Abavo and Umuenede it takes 180 — 210 feet depending on the location, such, sitting of water project in these areas is relatively very difficult. Conclusion Certainly the health, amenity and standard of living of the inhabitants of these communities are dependant upon the provision of acceptable system of water supplies to these rural communities. Its regular supply enhanced liveability and longevity of Life in this environmental setting. To enhance regular supply of water to the rural inhabitants of Delta state there is urgent need to adopt the above policy measures. References Adebola, K.D. (2001) Groundwater Quality in Ilorin Township: An Environmental Review. African Journal of Environmental Studies 2(2): Pp. 4-7. Adesuyi, O. (1996) Nigeria Produces 25 year water Masterplan. Ultimate water Technology and Environment 1(1): l7-ISpp. Efe, S.I. (2003) Water Quality and its Utilisation in the Nigerian Rural Setting of Abraka Delta State, Nigeria. International Journal of Ecology and Environmental Dynamics. Maiden (ed) pp. 81 —86 Ovrawah, L. and Hymore, F.K. (2001) Quality of Water from hand-dug wells in the Warn Environs of Niger Delta Region 2(2):pp. 169-173 Oyebande, L. (1981) The Hydrology of Urban Water Supply: A Case of Jos. P.O. Sada and J.S. Oguntoymbo (eds) in: Urbanisation Processes and Problems in Nigeria. Ibadan. University Press pp.141 — 149. 1

Grendels Mothers Attack Essay -- Beowulf Grendel Mother Essays

Grendel's Mother's Attack In Beowulf, we see a number of elements throughout the poem. First, we see a pagan warrior society. In this society the relationship between a king and his thanes is key. It is a symbiotic relationship in which the thanes defend the king and his land and fight his wars. In return, the king provides for his men. He offers them such items as mailcoats, swords, helmets, gold rings, mead, beer, shelter and companionship. This society also places great value on kinship. If one's kin is killed, it is the remaining relative's duty to make the killer pay for the death, either with his own life or the payment of wergild (the "man price"). Finally, we see the recurrence of the pagan ideas of fate and courage. Men believe that fate controls their lives. Beowulf constantly tests fate and believes that through courage he can live on in the memory of those who will live after him. In the section of the poem dealing with Grendel's Mother's attack, we see the warriors settling down to sleep in Heorot after the huge celebration of Beowulf's victory over Grendel. They seem unaware of the fact that Grendel has kin who may come to avenge his death. Grendel's mother appears on the scene, snatches a man away and hurries back to the mere. When it is discovered a man is dead, sorrow is renewed. There is no more joy at Heorot, now that the she-monster has sought "payment" for the death of her son. Yet since she and her son are monsters, the thanes feel little sympat...

Chemistry Investigatory Project

CHEM. RES. CHINESE UNIVERSITIES 2012, 28(3), 415—418 Determination of Nicotine in Tobacco by Capillary Electrophoresis with Electrochemical Detection SUN Jin-ying1, XU Xiao-yu1,2, YU Huan1 and YOU Tian-yan1* 1. State Key Laboratory of Electroanalytical Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, P. R. China; 2. Ministry of Public Security of Jilin Province, Changchun 130051, P. R.China Abstract A sensitive, simple and low-cost method based on capillary electrophoresis(CE) with electrochemical(EC) detection at a carbon fiber microdisk electrode(CFE) was developed for the determination of nicotine. Effects of detection potential, concentration and pH value of the phosphate buffer, and injection time as well as separation voltage were investigated. Under the optimized conditions: a detection potential of 1. 20 V, 40 mmol/L phosphate buffer(pH 2. 0), a sample injection time of 10 s at 10 kV and a separation voltage of 16 kV, the linear range obtained was from 5. 0? 10–7 mol/L to 1. 0? 0–4 mol/L with a correlation coefficient of 0. 9989 and the limit of detection(LOD, S/N=3) obtained was 5. 0? 10–8 mol/L. The method was also used to determine the nicotine in cigarettes. Nicotine amount ranged from 0. 211 mg/g to 0. 583 mg/g in the pipe tobacco of seven brands of cigarette and the amount in one cigarette varied from 0. 136 mg/cigarette to 0. 428 mg/cigarette. Keywords Capillary electrophoresis; Electrochemical detection; Nicotine; Tobacco Article ID 1005-9040(2012)-03-415-04 1 Introduction Nicotine accounts for about 98%(mass fraction) of the total alkaloids and presents in a concentration of 0. %? 8% (mass fraction) in tobacco[1,2]. And nicotine addiction is related with higher risk for many kinds of diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and even suicide[3,4]. Thus it’s necessary to control nicotine amount in tobacco products. Determination of nicotine is ver y important in both the tobacco industry and toxicology area[5]. A lot of analytical methods have been established for the analysis of nicotine and related alkaloids, such as radioimmunoassay[6], spectrophotometry[5], near-infrared spectroscopy[7], and recently flow injection(FI) with electrochemiluminescence(ECL) detection[8].The most frequently used analytical techniques for nicotine and its relative compounds determination are high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC)[9? 15] and gas chromatography (GC)[16? 23] with mass spectrometry(MS). Besides, HPLC coupled with UV-visible absorption(UV)[24? 28] or GC with flame ionization detector(FID)[1,29,30] and atomic emission detector(AED)[31] have also been developed to determine nicotine and related alkaloids. Capillary electrophoresis(CE) is characterized by high separation efficiency, short analysis time and a small amount of reagent consumed.Moreover, capillary column is flexible for use, easy to be treated with and cost effective . CE has been considered as an efficient alternative for HPLC technique[32]. Up to now, various detectors have been combined with CE separation for nicotine analysis, such as CE-MS[33,34], nonaqueous CE(NACE)-MS[35], CE-UV[36? 38], microchip mi- cellar electrokinetic chromatography(microchip MEKC)-UV[39] and CE with dual light-emitting diode induced fluorescence (LEDIF) and ECL detection[40]. Electrochemical(EC) detection has received more attention due to the simple manipulation and good selectivity.Electrocatalytic oxidation properties of nicotine have been investigated at multi-walled carbon nanotube-alumina-coated silica nanocomposite modified glassy carbon electrode(MWCNTACS-GCE), MWCNT-GCE and pencil graphite electrode[3,41,42]. HPLC with EC detection has been used for nicotine assay in plasma and hair[43,44]. NACE-EC was also established for tobacco nicotine detection[45]. In this paper, a simple CE-EC analytical procedure at a carbon fiber microdisk electrode(CFE) was develo ped. The linear range was 5. 0? 10–7? 1. 0? 10–4 mol/L, with a correlation coefficient of 0. 989. The limit of detection(LOD, S/N=3) obtained was 5. 0? 10–8 mol/L. To evaluate the applicability of the proposed CE-EC method, seven different cigarette brands were tested. Nicotine amounts ranged from 0. 211 mg/g to 0. 583 mg/g in pipe tobacco of seven brands of cigarette and the amount in one cigarette varied from 0. 136 mg/cigarette to 0. 428 mg/cigarette. 2 2. 1 Experimental Reagents All the reagents were of analytical grade that were used as received without further purification. Nicotine(purity 99. 7%) was obtained from Alfa Aesar(USA). Stock solution of 1. ? 10–3 mol/L nicotine was prepared in doubly distilled water ——————————— *Corresponding author. E-mail: [email  protected] jl. cn Received June 20, 2011; accepted November 24, 2011. Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No. 20875085). 416 CHEM. RES. CHINESE UNIVERSITIES Vol. 28 and stored at 4  °C. Na2HPO4, NaH2PO4, H3PO4 and NaOH were used for phosphate buffer solutions(PBS) preparation. All the solutions were prepared and diluted with doubly distilled water unless otherwise indicated. PBS was prepared daily with doubly distilled water.All the solutions were filtered through a 0. 22 ? m membrane before use. Different brands of cigarette were purchased from local market. high detection sensitivity. As shown in Fig. 2, with the increase of the applied detection potential, the current response increased slowly between 0. 70 and 1. 00 V, and then increased quickly between 1. 00 and 1. 20 V. Higher detection potential than 1. 20 V led to a peak current decrease and background noise increase. To achieve high detection sensitivity, 1. 20 V was selected as the optimum applied detection potential. 2. 2 ApparatusEC experiment was conducted with a Voltammetric Analyzer(CHI 800, USA). A conventional three-electrode system was employed with a 33-? m CFE as working electrode, a Pt wire as counter electrode and an Ag/AgCl electrode as reference electrode. An uncoated fused-silica capillary with i. d. of 25 ? m and length of 45 cm(Ruifeng Chromatogram Equipment Co. , Ltd. , Hebei, China) was used for sampling and separation. Capillary was rinsed in 0. 1 mol/L NaOH overnight before use. Every day before experiments, it was flushed with doubly distilled water for about 10 min and balanced with running buffer for about 15 min.CE-EC was conducted on a self-assembly instrument including a Voltammetric Analyzer(CHI 800, USA) and a high voltage supplier(MPI-A, Remax Electronic Co. , Ltd. , Xi’an, China). Sample injection was performed electrokinetically for 10 s at 10 kV. Fig. 2 HDV investigation of nicotine c(Nicotine)=1. 0? 10–5 mol/L; sample injection: 10 s at 10 kV; separation voltage: 20 kV; CE buffer: 40 mmol/L PBS(pH 2. 0); cell buffer: 0. 1 mol/L PBS(pH 8. 0). 3. 3 Optimization of CE-EC Conditions 3 3. 1 Results and Discussion Cyclic Voltammetry(CV) CV was used to investigate the electrochemical behavior of nicotine.A dramatic current increased from 0. 70 V was observed for nicotine(Fig. 1, curve b) compared with that of background electrolyte(Fig. 1, curve a), indicating that nicotine had high electroactivity at CFE. The adsorption property of CFE for nicotine was also investigated under CV experiment, however, no adsorption phenomenon of nicotine was observed. Since the oxidation potential of nicotine was not high at CFE, CE coupled with EC at CFE is practical for nicotine determination. Some other important factors including buffer concentration and buffer pH as well as separation voltage were investigated.Running buffer pH value influences the charge-mass ratio of the analyte and then influences the electrophoresis behavior of the analyte. We investigated the effect of pH values on the detection between pH 2. 0 and pH 10. 0 as shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 3 Effect of pH of CE buffer on detection of nicotine pH: a. 2; b. 4; c. 6; d. 8; e. 10. Separation voltage: 14 kV; other conditions were the same as those in Fig. 2. Fig. 1 Cyclic voltammetry curve of nicotine a. Background electrolyte, 0. 1 mol/L PBS(pH 8. 0); b. 1. 0? 10–3 mol/L nicotine; scan rate: 0. 05 V/s. 3. Hydrodynamic Voltammogram(HDV) Investigation Since applied detection potentials influence the detection sensitivity, thus we investigated the HDV of nicotine to achieve At pH 2. 0, nicotine was fully protonated and electroosmotic flow(EOF) was well restrained. EC response was the highest at pH 2. 0, and then decreased with the increase of pH value. With the increase of pH value, the migration time decreased correspondingly. Strong acidic CE buffer pH is more beneficial to sensitive and selective determination of nicotine. In consideration of the detection sensitivity, pH 2. was selected as the proper CE buffer pH value. Separation voltage is an important factor that influences the detection sensitivity and the migration time. When the separation voltage was changed from 10 kV to 20 kV, the migration time decreased from 14 min to 7 min correspondingly. No. 3 SUN Jin-ying et al. 417 As for EC response, when the separation voltage increased from 10 kV to 18 kV, the EC intensity of nicotine increased quickly, after that it decreased quickly from 18 kV to 20 kV(shown in Fig. 4). Detection sensitivity at 16 kV was higher than that at 18 kV.In consideration of the detection sensitivity, 16 kV was selected as the optimum separation voltage. supermarket. Pipe tobacco of 0. 1 g was weighed and placed in a polyethylene tube, in which 10 mL of solvent was added for nicotine extraction. Then, 10  µL of the extraction solution was transferred into a new polyethylene tube and diluted 100 times by doubly distilled water and the diluted extraction solution was used for analysis. 4. 2 Investigation of Extraction Solvents Fig. 4 Effect of separation voltage on detection of nicotine Applied detection potential: 1. 20 V; other conditions are as those in Fig. . 3. 4 Linear Range and LOD To obtain high extraction efficiency, solvents including water, methanol, chloroform and ethyl acetate were investigated. Current response of nicotine extracted with different solvents is shown in Fig. 5. Current response of nicotine was the highest when water was used as solvent. Methanol was also efficient for the extraction of nicotine from pipe tobacco. However, when methanol was used as solvent, migration time prolonged and the baseline shifted. When chloroform was used for extraction, current response was about 36% of that when water was used for extraction.Only very low response was found when ethyl acetate was used as solvent. Water was selected as nicotine extraction solvent for the highest nicotine current response obtained. Under the selected conditions: an applied detection potential of 1. 20 V; sample injection for 10 s a t 10 kV; a separation voltage of 16 kV; 40 mmol/L PBS(pH 2. 0) as running buffer and 0. 1 mol/L PBS(pH 8. 0) as detection buffer, EC response of nicotine was linear with concentration from 5. 0? 10–7 mol/L to 1. 0? 10–4 mol/L(81? 16200  µg/L)(y = –0. 2566+0. 4884x, R2= 0. 9978) and LOD(S/N=3) of nicotine was determined to be 5. 0? 10–8 mol/L(8.  µg/L). The proposed CE-EC method was compared with HPLC-MS[9,10], HPLC-UV[24,28], CE-UV[38,39], CE-MS[34], CE-LEDIF-ECL[40], microchip CE-UV[39], NACE-MS[35] and NACE-EC[45] methods(Table 1). From Table 1 we can know that linear range and LOD of CE-EC are nearly comparable with those of HPLC-MS[9] and UV[24] or NACE-EC[45] methods and CE-EC is almost 2000 times more sensitive than microchip CE method. Table 1 Method HPLC-MS HPLC-MS FI-ECL HPLC-UV HPLC-UV CE-MS NACE-MS CE-UV Micorchip CE-UV CE-LEDIF-ECL NACE-EC CE-EC Fig. 5 Extraction solvent comparison a. Water; b. methanol; c. chloroform; d. ethyl acetate.Sep aration voltage: 16 kV; injection: 10 s at 10 kV; applied detection potential: 1. 20 V; cell buffer: 0. 1 mol/L PBS(pH 8. 0); CE buffer: 40 mmol/L PBS(pH 2. 0). 4. 3 Extraction Time Investigation Comparison of CE-EC with other methods for nicotine determination Linear range/(? g ·L–1) 10? 10000 1? 100 0? 16000 25? 500 250? 100000 — 500? 100000 1724? 17240 — — 100? 10000 81? 16200 LOD/(? g ·L–1) 10 1 0. 19 8 100 0. 55 20 — 16000 259. 2 13 8. 1 Ref. [9] [8] [22] [24] [28] [34] [35] [38] [39] [40] [45] Our method The influence of extraction time on nicotine detection was investigated between 2 and 7 h.When extraction time was increased from 2 h to 4 h, the nicotine response kept increasing. But when extraction time continued to increase, the current response decreased, which may be due to the nicotine decomposition under room conditions. We chose 4 h as proper extraction time based on the experiment result. 4. 4 Tobacco Analysis 4 4. 1 Ciga rette Analysis Extraction Procedure Seven brands of cigarettes were purchased from local Pipe tobacco of 0. 1 g of each seven brands of cigarettes was weighed respectively and 10 mL of doubly distilled water was used for nicotine extraction.Nicotine amounts ranged from 0. 211 mg/g to 0. 583 mg/g in the pipe tobacco of each of seven brands of cigarettes. Nicotine amount in one cigarette varied from 0. 136 mg/cigarette to 0. 428 mg/cigarette(as listed in Table 2). The results obtained are slightly less than the amounts reported in the literature[46]. With the increase of nicotine concentration, the recovery decreased. For 5. 0? 10–6, 5. 0? 10–5 and 5. 0? 10–4 mol/L of nicotine, the recoveries were 80%, 75% and 418 CHEM. RES. CHINESE UNIVERSITIES [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] B, 2006, 844, 322 Vol. 28 72%, respectively(n=3).Table 2 Nicotine amounts in pipe tobacco and cigarette obtained by CE-EC analysis Number of tobacco sample 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Nicotine amo unt in pipe tobacco/(mg ·g–1) 0. 518 0. 502 0. 454 0. 211 0. 583 0. 454 0. 421 Nicotine amount in cigarette/ (mg ·cigarette–1) 0. 337 0. 355 0. 316 0. 136 0. 428 0. 327 0. 276 Man C. N. , Gam L. H. , Ismail S. , Lajis R. , Awang R. , J. Chromatogr. Lafay F. , Vulliet E. , Flament-Waton M. M. , Anal. Bioanal. Chem. , 2010, 396, 937 Shrivas K. , Patel D. K. , Food Chem. , 2010, 122, 314 Bao M. L. , Joza P. , Rickert W. S. , Lauterbach J. H. , Anal. Chim. Acta, 2010, 663, 49 Sharp M. P. , Hale T.W. , Hackett L. P. , Kristensen J. H. , Ilett K. F. , J. Chromatogr. B, 2003, 796, 173 Jablonski J. E. , Schlesser J. E. , Mariappagoudar P. , J. Agric. Food Chem. , 2006, 54, 7460 Nakajima M. , Kwon J. T. , Tanaka E. , Yokoi T. , Anal. 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Getting Our Future Back On The Rails †Slowly

How does the writer use written and visual language to attempt to persuade readers to share his point of view? The use of inclusive language and personal appeals positions the reader to share the writers viewpoint that a communal garden would be beneficial in not only the sense of convenience but also health, wealth and social.Throughout the article the writer attempts to make the reader believe that a community garden would be a far more productive use of land instead of a skate park and he/she does this with an logical and passionate tone and throughout the article it evolves into a feeling of determination and importance, and this is achieved by the use of imagery and statistics which appeal to both the readers hearts and their wallets. Through repetition of the word community, the writer seeks to compel the reader into believing in the project of the communal garden.The moderate use of repetition in this argument is just enough so that the reader clearly understands that this pro ject is for the community but then not enough so that it drives away the gradual acceptance that the writer is hoping to accomplish. The reference to the Second World War creates a feeling of companionship and duty to growing our own food because during the time of the food shortage that’s what everyone had to do back then, and people don’t want to be put back into that position.Referencing to the graph from the ‘NSW Environment Protection Authority’ lends credibility to the writers argument which influences the reader that the writer certainly knows what they’re talking about and that he/she isn’t the only one concerned about this topic. The concept of having more people that agree with the argument will sway more and more people into believing what is being read and eventually they will jump on board.Statistics and graphs have to be used cautiously in any persuasive piece because if either the information is proven to be wrong it will cause widespread loss of interest and trust in the argument, also, statistics cannot just be thrown into a piece without any explanation from the author otherwise it will just cause confusion for the reader and it will defeat its own purpose, it is similar to using an irrelevant quote.In this argument the use of the graph and the proper accreditation to the ‘NSW Environment Protection Authority’ shows the reader that the writer is trustworthy and the information that he/she is relaying is accurate. By addressing the readers informally as a community, the writer establishes a sense of intimacy not only with him/herself but almost as if with the entire audience that the article was addressed to. Inclusive language is language that does not belittle, exclude or stereotype people, instead it aims on bringing everyone together.Inclusive language includes the reader by assuming that they all agree or disagree, it engages the reader and may gain sympathy or persuade the reader to e ither accept or reject the idea or topic of the article. Some examples of the inclusive language that was used in this article include the words community, our own, ourselves, ‘to you, the community’ and neighbours, these words are all synonyms of the word group.In conclusion the writers main contention was to persuade all of the readers of this article to agree to the construction of a communal garden and he/she did this by using some powerful techniques the correct way in their article, these include but are not limited to inclusive language, repetition, statistics and imagery. The main audiences that will be convinced by this article are those that care about their community and also their own health and financial benefit but there will always be people that don’t agree with what you write and these people might include the ones that would be too lazy to get up and tend to a garden every day.

The Origins of a Notochord

The Origins of a Notochord A notochord is often described as a primitive backbone. The word notochord comes from the  Greek words  notos  (back) and  chorde  (cord).  It is a rigid, cartilaginous rod that is present at some stage of development in all chordates. Some organisms, like African lungfish, tadpoles, and sturgeon,  retain a post-embryonic notochord.  The notochord is formed during gastrulation (an early phase in the development of most animals) and lies along the axis from the head to the tail. Notochord research has played an important role in scientists understanding the development of animals  central nervous system.   Notochord Structure Notochords provide a rigid, yet flexible structure that enables muscle attachment, which is believed to be advantageous both for individual development and evolution. It is made from a material that is similar to cartilage, the tissue you find at the tip of your nose and a sharks  cartilaginous skeleton. Notochord Development The development of the notochord is known as notogenesis. In some chordates, the notochord is present as a rod of cells that lies beneath and parallel the nerve cord, giving it support. Some animals, like tunicates or sea squirts, have a notochord during their larval stage. In vertebrates, the notochord is typically present only in the embryo stage.

Free Essays on Knowledge Is The Key To Success

, people who only stay in one place all of their lives are going to be week when it comes to making it through hardships and things of that nature, while people who explore different cultures and environments will be able to cope with changes better. Another example from Toynbee’s essay was from the part in which he included a passage written by Ellsworth Huntington. Huntington told a story of a group of savages that left their perfect, tropical land to explore a different region. Several things happened to these bands. Some of them died, some of them returned home, and some of them learned to adapt to their new surrounding, thus creating... Free Essays on Knowledge Is The Key To Success Free Essays on Knowledge Is The Key To Success Knowledge is the Key to Success In my opinion, I believe that Arnold Toynbee and Edward Said both supported each other in their essays. In Toynbee’s essay, he explained how certain societies and individuals excelled in their environments when they applied their newfound knowledge to their lives. He then explained how societies might falter if they do not learn from tragedies and mistakes. Edward Said explained similar situations for people who were exiled from their home countries or cities. If the exiled person did not learn how to live and grow in their new environment, then they would lead a life full of misery and heartache. One of the examples that Toynbee used was the one about Adam and Eve. He explained how God forced Adam and Eve to leave the only existence they had ever known, and began a new life in a new land. They did not know anything about the world outside the Garden of Eden, so they had to learn as they went. Instead of giving up and dying, they taught themselves how to survive. They learned how to get food, reproduce and create a successful society. Said also explained something similar to this. He included the writings of a monk that said strong men are the ones who learn how to love several different soils, not just the ones they were born on. In other words, people who only stay in one place all of their lives are going to be week when it comes to making it through hardships and things of that nature, while people who explore different cultures and environments will be able to cope with changes better. Another example from Toynbee’s essay was from the part in which he included a passage written by Ellsworth Huntington. Huntington told a story of a group of savages that left their perfect, tropical land to explore a different region. Several things happened to these bands. Some of them died, some of them returned home, and some of them learned to adapt to their new surrounding, thus creating...

How to Format Captions

How to Format Captions How to Format Captions How to Format Captions By Mark Nichol Captions, like other display copy, are generally styled in contrast to the running text for aesthetic and practical reasons: The appearance of display type offers a change of pace from the uniform appearance of running text and makes it easier for readers to distinguish it from the default content. The font size should be the same as the running text, or smaller. Captions come in several forms, and they can vary to some extent within a print publication or on a website according to function. At their simplest, captions can consist merely of the name of the person pictured, or can identify, in a few words, an object or a location. A longer phrase, in the form of an incomplete sentence and without punctuation, might describe whatever is pictured. Or the caption might consist of one or more complete sentences that explain the contents of the photograph or illustration. Occasionally, a brief article is itself formatted as a caption. (Be cautious about not overwhelming readers with information, however. Caption copy can be redundant to a passage in the running text but should not go into excessive detail.) It’s best to minimize the different forms a caption can take in one publication. When captioning a headshot photograph of a person, for example, be consistent about whether you simply label the photo with the person’s name or whether you provide additional information. Because such photos tend to be small, printing the subject’s name alone is recommended. But a caption for a larger candid photo, as opposed to a posed headshot, for example, should provide some context. Choose between using incomplete sentences or complete sentences when providing more detail; it’s better form to be consistent with one approach or the other. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:15 Terms for Those Who Tell the FutureWork of Art TitlesDozen: Singular or Plural?

Letter for the Portfolio Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Letter for the Portfolio - Essay Example For someone who just started writing, it was such a distressing experience to scrutinize the work and rationalize effectiveness based on the essential elements in arguing a position. Likewise, the topic of â€Å"A Strong Healthy Economy Versus a Strong Healthy Environment† was also difficult because, as emphasized, both facets seem to manifest similar levels of importance. Concurrently, one found the topic on â€Å"Causes and Effects of Privacy Violation on Social Media and the Internet† most useful due to the preponderance of continued use of social networking sites and the online medium. Thus, there are a wealth of authoritative sources that provided the needed support. I actually learned immensely from these essays; particularly skills in critiquing, in research, and in writing an effectively supported cause and effect; as well as persuasive arguments. I was made assuming a more professional stance in writing by gathering authoritative information that would support and validate the arguments made. Likewise, I learned to observe proper citations and references; as well as the need to abide by grammatical rules in sentence structure, spelling, use of punctuation marks, appropriate choice of vocabulary, and editing.  

Introduction to Business Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 3

Introduction to Business Law - Essay Example Law of misrepresentation have provisions that offer redress of the consumer detriment (Cartwright, 2007). However, the rights appear in fragmented forms that are complex hence making it unclear. The complexities presented by the law require amendments to ensure effective application of the law. The current laws provide confusions to the advisers of the consumers and traders as well as their clients, a fact that pose hindrances to private ordering. Therefore, the essay presents the law by highlighting the gaps that need amendments by considering possible avenues that are applicable in a case where the consumer is mislead by the trader. Misrepresentation refers to misleading actions when considered from a private law perspective. However, this law does not occur in a single body but rather represents several causes of actions for a number of issues arising from misrepresentation (Law Commissions, 2010; Atiyah and Treitel, 1967). Therefore, it gives rise to several families of rule. When a consumer intends to bring forth claims of misrepresentation, they are required to go through sea of actions that may be intimidating and lead to uncertain actions (Law Commissions, 2010). These represent some of the discouragement that hinders the consumers from commencing any claim from the fraudulent traders. When a consumer is presented with misleading facts, or is told something that is untrue, such a consumer is said to have been mislead. When the trader breaches the contract or act in a fraudulent manner, the law of England governs this in the 1967 act of the misrepresentation (Warren, 1983). A misrepresentation depends on whether the information falls within the three categories of factual, falseness and not an omission (Cartwright, 2007). When a representation is untrue, it represents an actionable prospect. However, when it is untimely, unintelligible, or not

United States Uniform Personnel Identification System Thesis

United States Uniform Personnel Identification System - Thesis Example the world – the United States of America, with her idealism of liberty and equality inviting all, has to strengthen the security systems deemed to be the best and path-breaking by pioneering the use of exclusive Identity Cards, Biometrics and Microchip Implants for all her citizens – thus upholding the urgent mission of Homeland Security â€Å"to lead the unified national effort to secure the country and preserve our freedoms†. The advancement of technology and multi-faceted information system, as has ushered in a hi-tech futuristic era in the history of the Human race, it has also indulged in cryptic criminological affairs. This has necessitated a supremely secured, safe and sophisticated identification and access control methodologies thus strengthening screening specifications to protect sensitive information with a vision to shield the Nation against any covert intervention and activity. Thus in the foreseeable future United States of America can plan to build up a more protected networked society by the introduction of revolutionary human identity recognition systems. This unique personnel identification model can be based on broadly three factors, namely, introduction of single ID Card, implementation of biometric distinguisher and microchip implant identifier for each and every US citizen. This thesis proposes to strategize and explore on the broad spectrum of implementing this classified recognition system for American Citizens – its implications, the advantages, hindrances, legal aspects, process and period of introducing this system and long term prospects. This study will also formulate the development of a dedicated, stand-alone department within the US Department of Homeland Security to execute and monitor the above-mentioned security setup. United States of America, the pinnacle of power and prosperity supplemented by ideal illustration of liberty, equality and fraternity, has been the target of worst terrorist attacks in the history of

American Government Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

American Government - Essay Example An objective that was clearly lived up to as far as the cultural will of the people is concerned; in the way America has more races of people that reside in the country than any other nation in the world. It is through the constitution that every culture and religion on earth has found a place in America and then had the ability to flourish; with individuals from various backgrounds and religions and cultures finding a place for themselves in the American way of life and hence the formulation of an American identity. Today however we look at the numerous ways in which the American Government falls short as far as reflecting the will of the American people globally and socially is concerned. If we look closely in the past decade there has been wide spread public cynicism as far as established political institutions and the government is concerned. With the most frequently occurring theme in the American political system being pointed out by critics being the obvious dismay of the Amer ican citizen as far as the government’s inability to perform is concerned. ... One might wonder what causes all this discontent as far as the social needs of the people are concerned. A key push that has driven the public to formulate the negative opinion as far as their effectiveness to represent the people is concerned is that of the new health care bill which excludes certain state members from paying the same taxes as the other states. If equality is a social obligation which the government stands to promote the health care bill clearly does not authenticate that line of thought (Mcdonald, 1999). Unemployment, according to the Fortune is right now the No.1 issue in America, with the unavailability of jobs being a key concern along with employer’s inability to find workers they want. Even then the government fails to address this issue when presenting their jobs agenda to the nation. This was seen as a key missing element in the American Jobs Act. A shocking perspective of this situation roots from three key reasons due to which the Defense Department has found about 75% of American citizens between the ages of 17 and 24 who are not qualified even to serve in armed forces being; inadequate education, criminality and physical unfitness. Three shocking aspects that further signify the failure of the American government to come up with effective education reforms, social controls and providing adequate health facilities. A society in which the basic needs of each individual are not lived up to leads to social deterioration and unrest of the community as a whole. The Pentagon highlights the fact that there are 26 million young adults who are incompetent, unhealthy and undereducated individuals to be able to live up to professional and technologically advanced requirements (Colvin, 2011). How then can the government live up to its ‘We

Groupon And Alibaba Statistics Project Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Groupon And Alibaba - Statistics Project Example To achieve this, it looks at IT startups and other e-commerce ventures as opportunities for growth and business merges, to form a global conglomente, providing B2B, and B2C business channels. In contrary, Groupon business strategy is based on economies of networking and economies of scale, encouraging consumers to sign up as a group and enjoy Groupon offer. This strengthens consumer bargaining power, which may be attributable to its poor performance in comparison to Alibaba free market design, where consumers and business are provided with a platform to deal with each other directly. Alibaba major products include free upload of item for sale, payments processing capabilities, item categorization and point-of-sale solutions. Groupon major products are not much different from that of Alibaba, only that item categorization is applied depending on clients preferences. E-commerce industry is fast paced with new inventions and innovations every day. The degree of competition is high, with new entrants at local levels anticipating to go international in future. Substitute’s product for e-commerce business is social networking sites, where businesses and consumers are engaging in business with one another. In e-commerce, the industry has power over consumers to an extent, because it may lead to a rise in prices when it raises its charges on traffic their offer. However, consumers are not tied to a single supplier, because the platform offers a platform for multiple suppliers to meet and trade with clients. Mobile e-commerce is one of the key emerging issues within the industry. Regulations are not very effective, with cases of fraud reported. Alibabas’ growth strategy might provide for long-term market leadership, dependent on the risks of cooperation and merging with other businesses. It employs product differentiation leadership in its business. Alibaba faces no liquidity problems in future, observed in it management of working capital to

Individuals in Organizations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Individuals in Organizations - Essay Example (2000) introduced the notion of a proactive employee as one who is highly committed and involved, an autonomous contributor who is highly responsible and has initiative. In order to enhance his individual experience and relationships at AMX, Dave Green has to become a proactive employee through applying the various skills important in increasing both intrapersonal and interpersonal effectiveness. Shockley-Zabalak (2011) identified four important skills in improving individual effectiveness: cultural intelligence, active listening, accepting diversity and descriptive message strategies. Shockley-Zabalak (2011) defines cultural intelligence as the ability of an individual to understand people’s behavior depending on human universal behaviors, specific human behaviors, and culture-dependent human behaviors. For Dave Green to understand human universal behavior, he has to understand how the various motivation theories relate to human behavior. Abraham Marslow proposed the Hierarchy of needs theory that suggests the pursuit of satisfaction is what shapes human behavior. He grouped several needs as they relate to human behavior in a hierarchical order from the most important to the least. The needs include psychological needs, safety and security, social belonging, prestige, and finally on top of the pyramid is self-actualization (Shockley-Zabalak, 2011). Here, Dave Green has to determine what is important and to what level does his personal needs affect his behavior as well as that of his team. He has to understand his team better in order to understand what motivates them and use this knowledge to form an efficient team. The motivation-hygiene theory proposed by Fredrick Herzberg stresses that human behavior is affected by both internal and external factors (Shockley-Zabalak, 2011). He proposed that factors such as salary, working conditions, interpersonal relations and supervision all affected the satisfaction levels of employees. For Dave Green to better

Groupon And Alibaba Statistics Project Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Groupon And Alibaba - Statistics Project Example To achieve this, it looks at IT startups and other e-commerce ventures as opportunities for growth and business merges, to form a global conglomente, providing B2B, and B2C business channels. In contrary, Groupon business strategy is based on economies of networking and economies of scale, encouraging consumers to sign up as a group and enjoy Groupon offer. This strengthens consumer bargaining power, which may be attributable to its poor performance in comparison to Alibaba free market design, where consumers and business are provided with a platform to deal with each other directly. Alibaba major products include free upload of item for sale, payments processing capabilities, item categorization and point-of-sale solutions. Groupon major products are not much different from that of Alibaba, only that item categorization is applied depending on clients preferences. E-commerce industry is fast paced with new inventions and innovations every day. The degree of competition is high, with new entrants at local levels anticipating to go international in future. Substitute’s product for e-commerce business is social networking sites, where businesses and consumers are engaging in business with one another. In e-commerce, the industry has power over consumers to an extent, because it may lead to a rise in prices when it raises its charges on traffic their offer. However, consumers are not tied to a single supplier, because the platform offers a platform for multiple suppliers to meet and trade with clients. Mobile e-commerce is one of the key emerging issues within the industry. Regulations are not very effective, with cases of fraud reported. Alibabas’ growth strategy might provide for long-term market leadership, dependent on the risks of cooperation and merging with other businesses. It employs product differentiation leadership in its business. Alibaba faces no liquidity problems in future, observed in it management of working capital to

Processes involved in the human kidney Essay Example for Free

Processes involved in the human kidney Essay -Blood enters each kidney via renal artery and leaves each kidney via renal vein -Urine exists the kidney through a duct called the ureter and the uruters of both kidneys drain into a common urinary bladder -Kidney consists of outer renal cortex and inner renal medulla -Nephron is functional unit of vertebrate kidney -Consists of single long tubule and ball of capillaries called the glomerulus -Bowmans capsule surrounds the glomerulus -Kidney regulates the composition of the blood and produce urine -Filtration occurs as blood pressure forces water, urea, salts, and other small solutes from the blood in the glomerulus into the Bowmans capsule -Nonselective -Filtrate goes into proximal tube, loop of Henle (a hairpin turn with a descending limb and ascending limb) and the distal tubule -Kidney consists of cortical nephrons and juxtamedullary nephrons (only in mammals and birds) -Most of filtrate is reabsorbed back into blood; the kidneys take out about 1% -Proximal and distal tubules are the most common sites of secretion -Very selective process with both passive and active transport of solutes -Proximal, distal tubules, and loop of Henle contribute to Reabsorption -Collecting duct also helps in Reabsorption -Mammalians kidneys ability to conserve water is considered an important adaptation -Antidieretic hormone is important in osmoregulation -Made in hypothalamus and released when osmolarity in blood rises above certain point -ADH acts on the distal tubules and collecting ducts by increasing their permeability to water -Causes more water Reabsorption -Is turned off through negative feedback -Juxtaglomerulur apparatus located in the vicinity of the afferent arteriole, which supplies blood to the glomerulus -When blood pressure or blood volume in the afferent arteriole drops, the enzyme rennin causes chemical reactions that create a peptide called angiotensin II -Angiotensin II increases blood pressure and blood volume by constricting arterioles and decreasing blood flow to many capillaries like the kidney -Causes more salt and water reabsorption to increase blood volume -Causes release of aldosterone, which also acts on nephrons distal tubules and helps, reabsorb more sodium and water -Negative feedback turns rennin production off -Called the rennin-angiotensin-aldosterone system -Atrial natriuretic factor opposes RAAS -Released by the heart in response to an increase in blood volume and pressure -Inhibits the release of rennin -Inhibits NaCl reabsorption and reduces aldosterone release from adren

How Monetary Policy Can Influence Stock Market

How Monetary Policy Can Influence Stock Market Rakesh Kumar Nair Table of Contents (Jump to) 1.0 Introduction Understanding Monetary Policy and Stock Market. 1.1 Monetary Policy. 1.2 Stock Markets. 1.3 Objectives and Methodology. 2.0 Literature Review. 3.0 Financial Markets Explained. 3.1 Need for Government Regulations 3.1.1 Regulations in the UK. 3.1.2 Monetary Policy and Regulations in the US. 4.0 Analysis of Interest Rates, Inflation and Stock Market. 4.1 Post – 1995 Trends in Inflation, Interest Rates and Stock Market. 4.1.1 Correlation between Inflation Rates and Interest Rates. 4.1.2. Influence of Inflation Rates and Interest Rates on FTSE 100 Index. 5.0 Conclusion. References. Tables Table One: Chapter 4, Chart I and II, FTSE Stock Index 1995/2005, and Bank of England Interest Rates. Table Two: Chapter 4, Chart III and IV, Comparison UK Interest Rates, Inflation Rate, and FTSE Stock Index (percentage change). Financial markets are an essential component of an economy. With the virtual disappearance of borders preventing free flow of capital across nations, its implications not only affect a country’s economic growth but also the country’s ability to raise capital to meet its investment requirements. Financial markets, in this respects, covers the whole range of financial assets, companies and their products. The market participants involved may include those dealing in the derivatives markets, venture capitalists, foreign exchange dealers, hedge funds, investment banks, stock brokers, and financial credit agencies. Considering this diversified interest groups, it is essential that we have certain control regime to regulate this complex markets. Unlike other sectors such as Service and Manufacturing, the financial markets are essentially more sensitive to market behaviour and trends. Note that this does not in any sense mean that service or manufacturing sector is any less influential than the financial sector on economic growth. In recent times, we have observed that trends in financial markets in one country can influence the behaviour of these markets elsewhere. This integration and interdependence of the world financial market has brought about increased necessity for interest rate parity to prevent capital from moving frantically from one economy or sector to another. Federal banks in conjunction with their respective governments introduce reforms and regulations to control capital movements in and out of the country. These reforms and regulations are introduced by the federal bank through its monetary policy. Monetary policy can be defined as an â€Å"Instruments of Control† that a federal bank, in agreement with its respective government policy, use to control (i) price stability, (ii) inflation, (iii) money supply, (iv) exchange rates, (v) unemployment and (vi) Sustainable output. Each of these components highlighted have drastic implications for the short term and long term economic growth rates. Taking into consideration the main area of this study, we aim to understand how monetary policy can influences stock markets. To do this, we first need to know why capital moves from one sector/economy to another. How does current short term and long term interest rates influence the demand for money? Interest rates are used to control inflationary pressure and to control flow of money into the economy. Excess demand and supply for money in the economy can create inflationary pressures. These inflationary pressures and demand and supply of money are controlled through monetary policy. 1.1 Monetary Policy. By applying macroeconomic principles we know that movement of capital takes place to profit from sudden and unexpected changes in market sentiments. Consider a situation wherein there has been a sudden drop in interest rates by the federal bank. A drop in interest rates has positive implications in the sense that borrowers would find it cheaper to raise capital from the market. But why would a private lender lend his capital in an economy when he can profit by lending his capital for higher returns in some other economy ? This may force the lender to take his capital out of the economy to some other profitable destination. Such movement of capital – in and out of the economy will put pressure on the exchange rate to change. By how much does this movement will affect the exchange rate would depend by how much the federal banks lending rates can offset the negative implications of capital transfer by the capital lender. Whether positive or negative, the federal bank would have to devise a strategy to meet the demand for money not only by domestic borrowers and lenders but also by foreign borrowers and lenders. Expansionary and restrictive monetary policy can both have inflationary pressures. Curbing money supply with higher interest rates would lead many borrowers of capital to transfer these additional costs on to their customers. On the other hand, expansionary monetary policy with lower interest rates would lead to excess spending as disposable income increases. This would cause the prices to increase beyond the sustainable level. In this case, the primary objective of monetary policy is to maintain prices at a sustainable level. Such economic trends would warrant a monetary policy that can pump and pull money out of circulation, keep the real interest rates level at an optimum level and ensure that the domestic currency’s external value is determined by the market forces of demand and supply.. 1.2 Stock Markets. Business establishment look at various sources to raise capital to meet its expenditure requirements. They do so by raising capital from the market by selling equity to shareholders. Shareholders invest in anticipation of higher dividends. Firms need to raise capital from the market to meet its short and long term obligations. Suppose that a firm is not able to raise capital at an affordable rate, it would be forced to transfer the additional costs of borrowing on to its customers. Such an action would make its output more expensive in the market and it can have consequences for its profits generation and dividend policies. Less profits and lower dividends can hamper shareholder interests and its equity prices may take a drop. How does monetary policy work towards bringing stability in the stock market prices ? Stock prices are among the most closely watched asset prices in the economy and are viewed as being highly sensitive to economic conditions. Stock prices have also been known to swing rather widely, leading to concerns about possible bubbles or other deviations of stock prices from fundamental values that may have adverse implications for the economy. Taking into considering what stated above, we shall therefore look at the ways monetary policy, given its first objective of maintaining price stability in the economy, influence stock prices. The next chapter looks at some existing literature review on this topic. 1.3 Objectives and Methodology. The objective of this study is to first looks at the basics of monetary policy as a macroeconomic stability instrument. There has been considerable debate over the implications of monetary policy over the stock markets. This has largely been due to the uncertainty associated with the stocks and its prices. These uncertainties seem to affect risk premiums added to stock prices more than stock market index and the stock dividends. Chapter 2 looks at the literature review of existing articles and discussions on the importance of monetary policy for regulating stock markets. These chapter analyses the argument that monetary policies do not necessary have large scale implications for the stock markets. In chapter 3, I look at the need for regulation in the stock market and the factors that contribute in the making of the monetary policy. I have reproduced a chart representation of the US Federal Reserve and the factors that contribute in its monetary policy. We shall also be looking at the trend pattern in the FTSE 100 stocks with the Bank of England interest rates since 1995/96. In the graphical representation to follow in the chapter 4, I have taken into consideration the statistical historical data pertaining to FTSE 100 stocks, inflation rate and the Bank of England interest rates. I shall also be looking at the correlation that may exist between the interest rates and inflation rates in the UK. In order to have a better understanding of the relationship I have taken into consideration a 10 year period split into two parts – 1996/00 and Jan 04/Oct 05. I have also produced one multiple variable regression model to look for variance in the percentage change in the FTSE 100 index due to the variance in the inflation rate and interest rates. While assessing any topic pertaining to financial markets, it is essential that we give due consideration to the uncertainty that governs this sector of the economy. As we have seen in the previous chapter, financial products, its demand and the variance in their values are highly sensitive to market sentiments. Some experts suggest that monetary policy have comparatively less impact on the stock markets index while some suggests it affects the risk premium associated with shares. There are no pure economic explanation that explains whether or not monetary policy have any clear cut explanation for the changes in the stock markets and vice versa. But we do know that investors do look at government policies to formulate their strategies towards investments and monetary policy is one of the many such influencing factors. Whatever the case, we know that government policies are essential for the smooth functioning of the market. Reilly et al (2003) states that â€Å"monetary and fiscal policy measures enacted by national governments, as well as changes in demographic, politics, and technology influence aggregate economies. The resulting economic conditions influence all industries and companies within the economies†.[1] Eichengreen and Tong (2003) argue that â€Å"having volatilities in the financial markets are not a bad thing in and of themselves.†[2] Unexpected changes in the prices of assets acts as a signal to investors about the changes in future outcomes and their implications for the resource allocation. The extent to which the volatility of asset prices varies reflects the volatility in the policy and higher volatility may be an indication of a deteriorating policy environment. There appears to be a two way interaction between the market forces influencing the movement in the stock markets and the policy formation by the central banks. An unanticipated change in monetary policy is likely to have implications for the stock markets because an anticipated change would logically be discounted by stock market investors and they are unlikely to affect equity prices at the time they are announced. Governor Ben Bernanke (2003) states that â€Å"unanticipated changes in monetary policy affect stock prices not so much by influencing expected dividends or the risk-free real interest rate, but rather by affecting the perceived risk associated with stocks†.[3] We can understand from this statement that any unanticipated change in monetary policy is likely to increase the risk premium associated with the stock more than the expected dividends. Higher risks always come with higher premiums to compensate for bearing the uncertainty over the expected returns. For example, a restrictive monetary policy will lead investors to view stocks as riskier investments and thus may demand higher returns to hold stock. In simple words, a restrictive money supply policy through higher interest rates would make stocks to be more risk borne for a given path of expected dividends as higher expected return can be achieved only by a fall in the current stock price. More so, tightening of monetary policy has a particularly strong impact on firms that are highly bank-dependent borrowers as banks reduce their overall supply of credit. Government policies play an essential role in terms of investor confidence. Consider a situation wherein the government on recommendation by the federal or central banks decides to raise the investment FDI cap for foreign investors by certain margin. Investing firm will look at domestic markets for funding besides their own capital sources to invest. This investor confidence building measures are likely to attract investor to invest their capital by buying shares. But the extent to which such reforms are likely to succeed would depend on the rate at which such capital are available, policies towards repatriation of profits, exchange rate policies, reforms and regulations that allow firms to raise capital from the market. If the investor expects the likely returns from stocks to be less, it would make more sense for him to look at other financial derivatives and products such as Bonds for investment. Unlike Shares, Bonds are far less risk prone as the returns and period of investment is well established. Bonds come with specific-guaranteed returns and the investment period is decided upon at the time of issuance and purchase. Risks may come in the form of interest rates charged on raising necessary capital from the market. Talking of risks, if the investor is risk averse, there are possibly only two things that can deter stock markets from operating under market conditions. Firstly, the news that affects investors forecasts of current or future tax-deducted dividends and secondly, the forecasts on the current and future short term interest rates. From the company accounting point of view, what most investors are concerned about is the company’s ability to pay back short term credit loans and the interest rates charged over it. So if the federal banks raise short term interest rates, it might deter companies from meeting its short term obligations to the markets and investors from investing because current higher interest rates would make future dividends to be less valuable. Similarly, if the short term interest rates for lending are higher than the tax-deducted dividends receivable from stocks, Investors would find it more reasonable to lend their capital elsewhere at a rate that at least equals the bank’s short term interest rates which is higher than the receivable dividends from the stocks. In support of my argument, I shall highlight a particular remark made by Governor Ben Bernanke, US Federal Reserve (2003), â€Å"to value future dividends, an investor must discount them back to the present; as higher interest rates make a given future dividend less valuable in today’s dollars. Higher interest rates reduce the value of a share of stock†. Given these circumstances and as stated earlier, an investor would find other financial products such as Bonds more profitable to invest. Another important aspect of monetary policy influence over stock markets is its ability to manage â€Å"Bubbles† or â€Å"Boom† in the index. According to Bernanke, it is often difficult to identify in advance the factors that cause these bubbles. It is also pointed that the difficulty in pointing out comes from the fact that some bubbles may be of certain asset class which may, at times, influences the bubbles in other asset classes. Therefore any attempt to bring down stock prices by a significant amount using monetary policy is likely to have highly deleterious and unwanted side effects on the broader economy. Moving on to risk in this sector, we know from our understanding of the financial markets that not all investors are risk averse. Some tend to profit by speculating market behaviour and trends forecast for the future. Sloman (1995) states that if the prices are currently rising, then people may speculate whether or not the prices will go up or down. Such speculations add to the risk factor which makes any financial securities expensive. Speculations tend to be self-fulfilling in the sense that every actions of those who speculate in the markets tend to come from sheer anticipation about market behaviour and the actions of those who influence such market behaviour. Stocks, when compared to other financial assets, are considered to be more risk prone and therefore command higher than average returns. In the US, a diversified portfolio of stocks has paid 5 to 6 percent points more per year on an average than other portfolio comprising government bonds.[4] Such speculations only add to the risk premiums on stocks which explain the extra compensation that investors demand to be willing to hold relatively more risky stocks. One study conducted by Roberto Rigobon and Brian Sack shows that it is difficult to estimate the policy reaction because of the simultaneous response of equity prices to interest rate changes. The results obtained in their study shows that â€Å"monetary policy reacts variedly to stock market movements, with a 5 percent rise (fall) in the SP 500 index increasing the likelihood of a 25 basis point tightening (easing) by about a half. This reaction is roughly of the magnitude that would be expected from estimates of the impact of stock market movements on aggregate demand. Thus, it appears that the Federal Reserve systematically responds to stock price movements only to the extent warranted by their impact on the macroeconomy†. They simplify the concept by showing that if the probability of a monetary easing were 30 percent under existing economic conditions, an unexpected 5 percent decline in stock prices would increase the probability of a cut in the Feds benchmark short-term interest rate to 80 percent. [5] To support this argument put forward by Rigobon and Sack, I shall highlight the point put forward by Bernanke who points out that â€Å"an unexpected change in the federal funds rate of 25 basis points leads, on average, to a movement of stock prices in the opposite direction of between quarter percentage point and one / one-half percentage points†. Participants in the stock markets monitor economic indicators such as employment, GDP, retail sales and personal income because these indicators may signal information about economic growth and therefore affect cash flows. In general unexpected favourable information about the economy tends to cause a favourable revision of a firms expected cash flows and therefore place upward pressure on the firm’s value. Therefore, an easing of monetary policy would provide for an increase in wealth as stock prices increase which would prompt higher consumer spending. From a corporate point of view, higher stock prices would effectively reduce the cost of capital for firms stimulating increased capital investment. On the other hand, an unanticipated monetary policy would lower stock prices but increase risk premium. Easing monetary policy would provide for increased savings largely due to the decrease in risk associated with stocks. Results for Bernanke’s study suggest that â€Å"easier monetary policies not only allow consumers to enjoy a capital gain in their stock portfolios today, but it also reduces the effective amount of economic and financial risk they must face†. Thus, a reduction in risk associated with an easing of monetary policy and the resulting reduction in savings for precautionary purposes may amplify the short-run impact of policy on the asset value [6] Issues such as Inflation act as an indicator for economic growth. Rising inflation in most cases are dealt by accommodating interest rates to control the flow of money. For instance, often inflation is caused by the presence of excess money in the economy. The government might decide that the best way to tackle this problem is by increasing the interest rates. Raising interest rates would cut excess expenditure, reduce excess consumer demand thereby bring an equilibrium between aggregate demand and supply. Raising prices can also be tackled by raising interest rate by curbing unwanted expenditure. Bernanke and Gertler (1999) argue that monetary policy that aims at flexible inflation must pay little attention to asset inflation because a proper setting of interest rates should be able to achieve a sustainable inflation rate.[7]Analysing this argument, and looking at the evidence put forward by Bernanke (2003), changes in the monetary policy do not bring about immediate changes in the stock markets behaviour but maintains inflation rate at sustainable level. In this section, we looked at arguments put forward by Bernanke (2003), Reilly et al, Bernanke and Gertler (1999) to understand the existing study on the likely impact of monetary policy on stock markets. Despite all these suggestions, there appears to be little agreement over the exact and precise impact of monetary policy in the stock market. In the next chapter I shall look at the basics of financial markets and look at the regulation policies followed by the US Federal Reserve. I have also reproduced a chart representation of factors that influence the US stock prices. Financial Markets play a prominent role in today’s economy. Though in the past during industrial-manufacturing era of the 1800s/1900s, it can be argued that role of finance was narrowed down to basic accounting purposes such as the cost of production. Today, with the advent of various financial products and the integration of world economy financial sector it requires constant regulatory procedures for its smooth functioning. The financial crisis witnessed in East Asian economies, Mexico, and Argentina has made financial regulation and reforms an essential component of any government’s economic policy. In their regulatory capacities, governments have greatly influenced the development and evolution of financial markets and institutions. Fabozzi et al (2002) points out that â€Å"it is not surprising to find that a market’s reaction to regulations often prompt a new response by the government, which can cause the institutions participating in a market to change their behaviour further and so on†.[8] It can be understood by this argument that at all times governments, markets, and institutions tend to behave interactively and to affect one another’s action in certain ways 3.1 Need for Government Regulations One very good and justifiable explanation for the need for regulation in any markets, not just in financial markets, is that when markets are left to it self, it tends to deviate from its basic objective of market efficiency. A short hand expression for this deviation from market efficiency is described in economic terminology as â€Å"market failure†. Some basic regulations followed by many governments can be categorized into 4 basic categories To prevent issuers of securities such as stocks, bonds, from concealing relevant information. To promote competition and fairness in the trading of financial securities. To promote the stability of financial institutions. To control and restrict activities of foreign institutions and concerns in domestic markets. 3.1.1 Regulations in the UK. One of the major regulatory procedures ever adopted by the British government was during the mid-1980s when it introduced the â€Å"Big Bang† disclosure of information by the securities markets. An Important part of that restructuring was the Financial Services Act of 1986. This law imposes a â€Å"general duty of disclosure† and applies to any foreign or domestic firm that issues debt or equity securities, whether or not the securities are to be listed on the London Stock Exchange. The Financial Services Act assigns responsibility for regulating financial activity to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). The DTI delegates much of the task to the Securities and Investment Board (SIB). The SIB is the primary agency that authorizes institutions to conduct investment business and monitors their dealings with the public and the adequacy of their funding.[9] The Bank of England now regulates most banking institutions in much the same way as the US Federal Reserve. Until the Big Bang of 1986, banks were not permitted to engage in many activities involving the sale of securities. Since then banks are not allowed to own subsidiaries that are members of the stock exchange, which offers investors many financial services linked to investing. Non-British firms are now allowed to be part of and even lead the groups of underwriting firms that sell to the public new issues of debt and equity denominated in pound sterling. 3.1.2 Monetary Policy and Regulations in the US. One of the major duties of US Federal Reserve is serving on the Federal Open Market Committee, the body that makes US Monetary Policy.[10] As we have seen earlier in the first chapter, the primary objective of monetary policy is to maintain the macroeconomic stability in terms of price levels, unemployment, exchange rates, and interest rates. Federal Banks, often, use interest rates as a means to control inflation. To what extent can the bank control interest rates is a matter of debate especially since most economies work on market economy principles. United States have brought extensive reviews and changes to its policies regarding domestic and foreign firm’s participation in the financial markets. In 1984, the federal government abolished the withholding tax on interest payments to non-resident holders of bonds issues by US firms. In 1987, US markets obtained permission to trade futures based on foreign government bonds This illustration shows the reasons and factors that influence the stock prices to change in the US.[11] According to Governor Bernanke the US Federal Reserve have little or no direct control or influence over the interest rates that matter most for the economy, such as mortgage rates, corporate bond rates or the rates on Treasury securities. In support of his argument, I shall point out similar policy constraints faced by the German government since joining the EMU. Fabozzi et al (2002) points out that â€Å"the European Central Bank replaced the central bank of 11 participating countries of the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). ECB, since then, controls the money supply, availability of credit and short term interest rates for the EMU members and has also influenced the uniform currency of the EMU†. Given these regulatory frameworks how far are the bank’s monetary policies a determining factor in the stock exchange. The idea of this chapter was not to explain each and every regulatory technique the banks use but to have slim-shot view of the factors that influence bank’s monetary policy. The chart representation quite clearly shows the factors that contribute in the US Federal Reserve monetary policy. In the next chapter we shall look at some historical trends and then use those trends to arrive at some econometric models. Considering the fact that central banks are increasing looking at market forces to control interest rates, the role of financial regulatory bodies becomes complex. Broadly speaking, to have efficiency in the financial markets, it is essential that the bank is able to determine the degree of financial stimulus needed to push the economy to its optimal level. Monetary policy, in this situation, should strive to provide this stimulus. For example, lower mortgage rates promote increased spending on new homes and lower corporate bond yields and high stock prices generally induce firms to invest in new capital goods. Similar to these rates stated now, lower interest rates should act as an incentive for firms to borrow and invest in lucrative products. From the long term perspective, obtaining credits are comparatively less complicated. Short term credits are more essential as firms often have to meet its short obligations by borrowing. Firm’s ability to meet its short and long term obligations act as an indicator for shareholder to assess whether are not they should invest their capital. These short and long term obligations are determined by the interest rates. Failure of the markets to provide funds at affordable rates has consequences for economic growth. A r

Internet Privacy :: essays research papers

Internet Privacy: Is the Internet as safe as everyone says? As every generation comes they bring with them a new invention from cars to television to the telephone the basic existence of man, in my eyes, is to advance both technologically, thus making life better for us all and also scientifically. Man wants to know all we want to be able to answer all the questions out there as every day goes by we get closer and closer to answering some of our questions. Everyday new cures for diseases are found and also new diseases are discovered, new discoveries are made in various fields, at the same time however new problems are arising. Man in every era has depended on some form of tool to help him to his tasks whatever they may be, a tool to make things easier. This tool is technology; technology does not have to be the modern thoughts of computers. Technology is "the science of technical processes in a wide, though related field of knowledge." That is the definition given by The New Lexicon Webster's Dictionary of the English Language. So technology can be anything as long as it helps us advance. It can be anything like a plough to help a farmer, a television to help the media and the telephone to help us communicate. The latest technology of the 20th Century is the Internet and it has placed a great mark on our society. It is the new "place to be" where business can advance, people can interact worldwide at the click of a mouse and this has revolutionarily changed the world. In the world of the Internet there are millions of members worldwide and that means it is a very profitable arena. In an area where there is money there are criminals and that is where the modern criminals of the world are behind computer screens. They may be credible individuals in society and they could also be credible corporations and organizations that are finding a quick way to make money and by doing this they are breaking ethical rules of society (even though it is hard to determine the ethics of the internet) and one of these crimes is the violation of the privacy of others. I have logged on to the internet and have felt safe, like anyone should that logs on to the net, that I am the only one viewing my mail or cruising the net, I feel like I am the only one that knows where I have been and that no one is tracking me.

The Power of Music in James Baldwins Sonnys Blues Essay -- Sonnys B

The Power of Music in James Baldwin's Sonny's Blues At first glance, "Sonny's Blues" seems ambiguous about the relationship between music and drugs. After all, the worlds of jazz and drug addiction are historically intertwined; it could be possible that Sonny's passion for jazz is merely an excuse for his lifestyle and addiction, as the narrator believes for a time. Or perhaps the world that Sonny has entered by becoming involved in jazz is the danger- if he had not encountered jazz he wouldn't have encountered drugs either. But the clues given by the portrayals of music and what it does for other figures in the story demonstrate music's beneficial nature; music and drugs are not interdependent for Sonny. By studying the moments of music interwoven throughout the story, it can be determined that the author portrays music as a good thing, the preserver and sustainer of hope and life, and Sonny's only way out of the "deep and funky hole" of his life in Harlem, with its attendant peril of drugs (414). The story's first encounter with music is after the narrator has learned of Sonny's arrest. He is thinking about the boys he teaches, and how they could all be "sucked under" (419) just as Sonny has been. He hears their laughter in the schoolyard and notes its "mocking and insular" quality, a noise made by disillusioned youth rather than the untainted, joyous sound one expects of children (410). One boy whistles a tune, a cool and moving, complicated and simple melody, "pouring out of him as though he were a bird," and the music manages to soar above the harsh sounds of disenchantment (410). Clearly this music is joy and salvation. Because he concentrates on this simple music, one boy does not curse and den... ..., because this tale is "the only light we've got in all this darkness" (438). "Sonny's Blues" is filled with examples of music and how it makes things better. The schoolboy, the barmaid, the mother, the brother, the uncle, the street revivalists, all use music to create a moment when life isn't so ugly, even though the world still waits outside and trouble stretches above. Music and the tale it tells provide hope and joy; instead of being the instrument of Sonny's destruction, introducing him to the world of drugs, music is his way out of some of the ugliness. For Sonny and the other characters in this story, music is a bastion against the despair that pervades stunted lives; it is the light that guides them from the darkness without hope. Works Cited Baldwin, James. "Sonny's Blues." The Oxford Book of American Short Stories 1992: 409 - 439.

Language and Gender in Adolescence Essay

In the reading, I agree with Penelope Eckert that adolescents are leaders of linguistic change. According to the World Wide Web, linguistic change is a phenomenon whereby phonetic, morphological, semantic, syntactic, and other features of language vary over time. Adolescents also known as teenagers or youth play a significant role in deteriorating or accelerating the kind of linguistic system in a particular place or community. If to be analyzed, this can be equated to the strong, active and consistent participation of the youth in voicing out their opinions, getting into social issues and trends, and in creating an environment that is suitable and almost ideal to their generation. In my opinion, there are three reasons which support the claim that adolescents are leaders of linguistic change in today’s age. These are peer pressure, media and the Internet. Peer Pressure A primary concern for teens during adolescence is the issue of ‘fitting in’ and ‘belongingness’. Since adolescence is an adjustment period where children suddenly leap to a stage where he or she would start in creating an image of themselves or a self-concept, there is a tendency for them to be lost and confused to who and what they really should be due to the numerous options in front of them. Often said than not, adolescents are more easily swayed rather than adults. It is easier to teach a youngster that is less matured and still in the process of knowing his or herself than an adult who already has a formed principle and beliefs. For example, if there is a new trend, let’s say in fashion or music, an adolescent would normally be swayed to what is ‘in’ and hit’ to most of the people around him or her so that he or she may be accepted in the circle he or she wanted to belong to. This also goes with his or her choice of words and language. Adolescents tend to speak the way people around them speak. They tend to become the persons their environment and peers dictate them to be in order to be socially accepted and relevant. When it comes to choice of words and language, youth can be easily influenced with what vernacular or words to use since in the stage of puberty serves as their training ground and preparation phase of how and who they’ll be in the future. Moreover, due to peer pressure, adolescents are assigned to groups or pacts which can influence another group of adolescents that make the widening of a certain trend expand faster. For example, in the Philippines there is this particular way or style of speaking called the ‘conyo’. In this manner, the person tends to combine his or her vernacular with American English when speaking in public or to certain persons. Most youth embraced this kind of manner since it is what is ‘in’ and famous among adolescents of their generation. Now, if a group speaks that way then heard by another person or group of persons and then that certain persons adopt the manner of speaking, there is a domino effect of the ‘conyo’ style that changes the linguistic system existing in that certain place or community. Media and the Internet Media and Internet are two powerful tools in linguistic change. This can be viewed in two ways: first, media and internet as tools in changing and influencing the minds and behavior of the people, and second, these tools as used by the people to change and influence their environment. Since most media and internet users are composed of the young population, those of which belong to the teen’s age and young adulthood, it can be concluded that the adolescents compromise this population. Now, how do the media and the Internet serve as tools in influencing their users? The media is changing and along the likes of TV programs that are hit to their viewers, people especially teenagers are going along with the change. Since media is a daily part of one’s life, it can easily influence its viewers on how they should be. For example, most teens mimic their favorite artists with their fashion, choice of stuffs and even with their manner of talking and handling things. Aside from the media, the Internet constitutes a great deal in linguistic change. The trends being delivered by Internet services like instant messaging, blogging and social networking influences the culture of its users when it comes to their linguistic style and system. Instant messaging taught us the short-style of sending messages (i. e. â€Å"Who R U? †, BRB, LOL, and the like). Through media and Internet, adolescents are also exposed to different styles of language. They are exposed to the kind of words they see in web pages, newspapers, magazines and different publications, and hear in TV and radios or in podcasts that sooner or later they’ll adopt. On the other hand, these tools are also used by the people to change and influence their environment and co-individuals. Through these, the youth became more empowered when connecting with their co-youth and when sharing their ideals that affect a great deal of people. They became more heard, powerful and capable of changing the linguistic system they live with. They were able to take control of the system through media, internet, and their characteristics as youth and population. To summarize, I believe that adolescents are the leaders of linguistic change. Primarily, the interconnectedness of peer pressure, media and the internet attributed to the power of the youth to be the catalyst of change in their linguistic system due to their own ways and styles of dealing with their environment and in their process of finding and knowing them