Iago -Betrayal and Loyalty

The Theme of Betrayal and Loyalty Through the Eyes of Desdemona, Othello, and Iago The play The Tragedy of Othello the Moor of Venice, written by William Shakespeare in the 1600’s, has many underlying and reoccurring themes. The major themes are betrayal and loyalty. During the entire play, every character is either betrayed or proved loyal. The Tragedy of Othello the Moor of Venice can be seen through the characters of Iago, Othello, and Desdemona. Othello and Desdemona have both been betrayed in their attempt to be loyal to another character.Throughout the play, Iago manipulates the other characters into betraying one another so that he can get his ultimate betrayal on Othello. Shakespeare uses Iago as the main portrayer of betrayal throughout the entire play. He betrays all the other characters, but his main focus is on Othello. Despite that, he ends up betraying all the people closest to him. Iago’s betrayal starts off from the first scene page of the play right unt il the end. The audience learns Iago’s motive through his monologue: â€Å"Thus do I ever make my fool my pursel hate the moor, and it is thought abroad that ‘twixt my sheets’ has done my office.I know not if’t be true, but I, for mere suspicion in that kind will do as if for surety. † Iago suspects that Othello has had an affair with his wife. However, Shakespeare makes Iago’s motif very unclear; therefore, it can be argued that this is Iago’s excuse and in actual fact he has no reason other than he simply hates Othello. Iago wants to destroy Othello because Othello promoted Casio as chief lieutenant instead of him, which is another reason why Iago wants to destroy him. Iago is one of Shakespeare’s most complex villains. Initially, we see Iago’s character as pure evil, yet later we see him as a completely amoral person.Iago does not push aside his conscience to commit his evil plans, he simply lacks a conscience to begin with. Through Iago, Shakespeare shows us a character that acts against his reputation and betrays all this friends and loved ones. Through some careful thought out words and actions, Iago is able to manipulate others to do things in a way that benefits him and moves him closer to his ultimate goal. He is the main driving force of the play, pushing Othello and everyone towards their tragic end. Iago is smart. He is an expert judge of people as well as their character and uses this to his advantage.Iago is also quick on his feet, making him able to improvise when something unexpected occurs. Being as smart as he is, Iago is quick to recognize the advantages of trust and uses it as a tool to forward his main purpose. Throughout the story he is commonly known as the â€Å"honest Iago†. He even says himself, â€Å" I am an honest man†. Trust is a very powerful emotion that is easily betrayed. Iago is a master of betrayal. He slowly poisons people’s thoughts, creatin g ideas in their heads without risking himself. Iago is capable of anything, not even the brave soldier Othello is safe from this villain.Othello holds Iago to be his closest friend and advisor. He believes Iago to be a person, â€Å"of exceeding honest, who knows all qualities with learned spirit of human dealings†. Yes, he does know about human dealings, but he is not the honest man he appears to be. He uses Othello’s trust in him to eventually turn Othello into a man no better than himself. Othello is introduced to us in the first scene of the play in a negative light, when Iago and Rodrigo refer to him using derogatory terms such as, â€Å"The Moor†, â€Å"the thick lips†, â€Å"an old black ram† and â€Å"a Barbary horse†.Othello may be an outcast in Venice due to the color of his skin; however, he is a highly respected soldier. He is extremely skilled in his field and a loyal man; therefore, valuable to the state. Due to this, we soon learn of Othello as the noble man he is. Othello, however, has the â€Å"tragic flaw†. It is the internal imperfection in a hero that brings him down. His downfall becomes his own doing; he is no longer the victim of fate. The prejudice of those around him destroyed him, and they believed that, â€Å"A black man is an unattractive creature, not quite human, and unworthy of love†.Thinking this made him unable to believe that Desdemona could truly love him. This is why he believes Iago so easily when he convinces him Desdemona has had an affair. Othello betrays his wife by believing Iago’s word over hers, this then leads him to his ultimate betrayal when he kills her at the end of the play. At this point he also shows his loyalty to her by killing himself, stating that he can’t live without her. The man we see at the end of the play is not the loyal man we meet in the beginning.Othello has let the â€Å"green eyes monster of jealousy† turn him from a loyal soldier to a betrayer just like Iago. Desdemona is a lady of spirit and intelligence; she is the most direct, honest and loyal character of the play. She only betrays people to those to who she is loyal. Desdemona is a lady of few words, yet she makes sure every word counts to get her point across. In Desdemona’s eyes, Othello is the hero of many exciting and dangerous adventures; he is the orphan who needs love. These are the reasons Desdemona had fallen in love with Othello, despite all the nasty remarks from fellow Venetian citizens.Her marriage has brought her position and happiness, so much that she finds it unbearable to think that her husband has turned against her. This numbness lasts until she sees that he actually intends to kill her. She then puts up a defense, insisting on her loyalty and innocence. In despair of losing his love, she still defends him from consequences of his actions, but he is past seeing the truth: that she has committed herself to his lo ve, and without it she cannot live. Othello ends up killing his wife, in spite of her loyalty toward him till the very end.By the end of the play, all characters have lost their loyalty to each other from what Iago as done to make them feel betrayed. Desdemona is left lifeless in her room, Iago kills his wife Emilia, as she reveals that Desdemona has been falsely accused of adultery, and Othello kills himself rather than living with what he has done. Iago is the only survivor by the end of the play, which further justifies his intelligence. All the characters have reached their downfall and Iago is finally pleased. He has completed the ultimate betrayal.

Attachment report Essay

Tetu Aberdare Water and Sewerage Company was established in year 2006 under CAP 4&6 of the Company’s act of Kenya to provide services to Tetu District residents through provision of water and sanitation services. The company offers its customers clean and rate water through pipes right form the intakes in the forest to the customer’s individual homes and businesses. The company is regulated by the water act 2002 which stipulates how each institution in the water sector operates. The company obtains raw water from the source and treats the water at the treatment works. The water is then purified and chlorinated before distribution to the customers through the piped infrastructure laid out in the whole service provision Agreement (SPA) area. To operationalize its mandate TEAWASCO has set up a strong organizational structure with a board of directors and management staff. The company has put in place governance instrument including the signing of a code of conduct for the Company of directors and performance contract of management staff, TWSB and DWO. The strengthening of governance instruments will continue with the development of company has improved sewerage services which will support industries and a growing urban population in order to contribute towards achievement of Kenya vision 2030 and National and international goals Vision To be the most efficient and effective water services provider in rural Kenya Mission To ensure provision of affordable, reliable and sustainable water and sanitation services by operation and maintaining water and sanitation facilities. In order to continue provision of clean, safe and sustainable water the company has developed the following Principles. Develop Water sources in areas where water quality in guaranteed and there are possibilities of gravitating it to all areas. a)Exploiting the available water resources potentials giving equal emphasis to surface and ground water. b)Emphasis on development of the available water resources potential for meeting the domestic water need without pegging it on specific projects. c)Concept of development of bulk water supply systems. d)Giving domestic water preferential treatment over other uses at the point of abstraction. e)Providing access to safe and potable water to all by the year 2015. CORE VALUES a)Competence Human resource competence will be enhanced through structured programs of human resource development. Compensation policies will reward superior performance b)Teamwork The board will work to build an organization that recognizes the value of teamwork c)Networking The board will network and collaborate with other stakeholders in achieving its strategic objectives d)Innovationess The search, acquisition and use of knowledge to improve the qualify of life will be encouraged and supported within and among the stakeholders e)Integrity The board will operate in an open, sincere and frank manner in all its undertaking f)Quality Customer Service Customer service excellence will guide all interactions among staff and with stakeholders. DETAILS OF PLACEMENT DEPARTMENT During my attachment period I was attached in procurement department. The department is under commercial department but it is headed by procurement manager called Mr. Mwaniki, under him there is one procurement assistance who is also the storemans. I was treated well by all staff in procurement assistance. Mr. Kagiri trained me how to procure goods and services in public institutions according to PPA 2005. Moreover we could work with him to issue, receive and inspection of goods. In this department I was able to team how to write an LPO, LSO Writing quotations, selling tenders, opening tenders, evaluation and selection of most responsive bidder according to technical and financial evaluation, writing of fuel orders and reconciling of bin cards. I was able to interact with several suppliers and also for ISO satisfaction of the board. In conclusion I was able to procure goods and  services in right time, right price, right quantity, and right quality and from the right source. SECTION 2 ATTACHEMENT EXPERIENCE 2.1 GENERAL ACTIVITIES UNDERTAKEN It involved the procurement and general purchasing of products for effective service delivery to ensure customer satisfaction. The attachment period spanned from 28th March to 31st May 2013. This include:- Procurement This helped me know the procedures of requisition for the materials that are needed in the stores at a particular time. Inventory Control This assisted me in knowing that materials are in the store, what to be purchase or ordered and what not to be ordered. Record Management This helps in safety of documents; where there is ease to locate in case they are needed for future experience. Suppliers Management This guides the suppliers on what needed, where to deliver and of what quality and quantity. Warehouse Management This helped me know how to arrange the stores, identity the items and park the materials according to their similarities Management Of Stores/Procurement Staff This helps to reduce the chances of damages or theft especially during offloading and when loading the materials. Writing Procurement Documents This enabled me to be able to write quotations, LPO, LSO, S11, S13 and requisition form. 2.2 SPECIFIC ACTIVITIES UNDERTAKE The specific activities that I undertook included:- Procuring Of Various Types Of Material Required In The Company Operations. This included sorting of files in the registry according to activity, updating of circulation book files, filling of loose letters in respective files, locating of missing files in various officers arranging the found files back in chronologic order, sorting and arranging personnel files in relation to departments and replacing worn out old files and new ones, ensuring proper documentation and approvals, obtained for all organization  invoices. Imputing approved invoices accurately into the according to terms and cash availability, maintaining and updating annually standing list of registered renderers required by the procuring entity and liase with its authority in respect of the authority’s register of suppliers and procuring agent. Participation In Procurement Planning Committee Meetings This entailed writing of minutes for various meetings, noting any evaluation made during the meeting, invitation advisors or members of the procurement unit to explain submissions or provide technical advice where required. It also involved reading of previous meetings minutes, deliberation and ascertaining the members present and those absent with and without apologies. Not forgetting noting any evaluation made during the meeting, attending meeting of evaluation and selection of the bidder. Making Reports On Various Procurement Activities This had been daily duty that involved liaising with department heads to supply required departmental reports for filing and hence consolidation communicating across the different departments remained a major activity informing them of meetings, results their performances and trends as per the rapid results organization policy. Undertaking General Procurement Clerical Works i.e. Maintaining Of Records This entailed ensuring that all liabilities have been recorded. Maintaining an approved up-to date vendor/supplier database on the accounts payable system. Billing approved group and transient accounts with the appropriate supporting documentation. Preparing, publishing and distributing procurement and disposal opportunities including invitation to tender pre-qualification document and institutions for expression of interest coordinate the receiving and opening of tender documents. Maintaining and safe guarding procurement and disposal documents and record accordance with regulations. Managing The Inventory In The Organization – involved an assessment of the stock issue like conformance with the set timelines of completing of order targets, designing of appropriate forms for the supplies in the relation to the department as well as redirecting the departmental heads on how to fill these form. Further it included balancing of stock ledgers at the close of  the day of all categories of products using the receipts and invoices for day’s ascertainment. 2.3 AN ANALYSIS OF LEARNT KNOWLEDGE AND APPLIED SKILLS Learnt Knowledge I)During my attachment period I was able to acquire knowledge in:- I learnt how to communicate between the organization and the internal and external customer. I guided the direction of the organization by parting ways or charting the way forward. At TEAWASCO there was analysis of trends and patterns in the organization as well as the stakeholder procedure of receiving and inspecting materials delivered: I was involved in inspection of materials delivered to the company by other sources and had to make record s of the delivered materials. II)Procedure of inventory control at the store. I was trained on manners of stock taking and record keeping during my attachment duration. III)Issue of materials to departments within the company and various schemes whenever any department requires any material from stores I was to issue and deduct the amount from the bincard. IV)Proper filling of documents V)It was my daily duty to file and document to their specific files and those that needed to be updated in the system (computer) I also did as required. Applied Skills During my attachment period I was able to apply skills in:- Computer Skills And Operations: – These were applied during feeding of information to the system, sending of E-Mails, scanning of documents e.t.c Technical Skills: – the skills that I learnt at class enabled me to handle the tasks that are required at the office like accounting as I was required to write the invoices. Picking up of the office telephone, the skill I learnt in office management. Interpersonal Skills: – At TEAWASCO I was able to interact with various people like the clerks, the contractors and supplies, together with the internal and external customers. Conceptual Skills: – At TEAWASCO, I was able to interact with various people like the clerks, the contractors and suppliers, together with the internal and external customers Conceptual Skills: – At TEAWASCO I was able to plan award of the daily delivery report and also plan how the deliveries are to reach the various customers. Inventory Control: This is the activity of knowing  what materials are in the store, what to be ordered and not to be ordered. Stock Issues: – This was mainly to issue ordered materials to various departments in the organization. Counter Checking Of Materials Delivered: – this is done by comparing materials delivered as to the order document and its specification. 2.4 A PROFILE OF SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES GAINDED AND ACQUIRED During my attachment period I gained and acquired:- A profile of skills Communication Skills The procurement department was interactive with other departments like the finance department which its main work is mostly paying suppliers, receiving payments from distributors and paying the employees of the company and the human resource department which is involved with hiring new employees Interpersonal Skills There was an interaction among the employees. The supplies clerks used to receive the invoices from the finance office under the strict supervision of the commercial manager Record Keeping: This aided me to gain the knowledge in filling documents and feeding data into the store card (bin card) Stock Taking: This helped me know what to order for more materials, what brand to add and what not to be purchased A PROFILE COMPETENCY Public Relations: This helped me improve my communication skills toward internal customers, fellow workmates and even my superiors Use Of Accounting Packages: Used excel to enter data on the deliveries preparing the report and trends analysis. Handling Customers Complaints This gave me confidence to take a customers problem or complaint and handle it with the professional required for that. 2.5 OBSERVATION AND CRITIQUE 2:5:1 Observations During my attachment period, I was able to make the following observations analysis book requires a lot of accuracy as the right kind of figures has to  be jotted down as each invoice has a unique number from each other. The supplies clerk had a lot of work to be done as there was regular tendering and many others to be addressed. I observed that the company has a high profile management comprising of General Manager strong and competent, the staff too are also hard working thus meets the organizations goals. Highly Qualified And Skilled Personnel This is an added advantage for the organization to have acquired as they will work best to meet the organizations objectives. Commendable Strategy Of Purchase And Marketing With this the organization is able to source for any products it requires and negotiate for favorable supplier’s relationship. Technology The level of technology used in the organization makes everything effective and efficient, despite lack of many machines will harness the operations of the company Modern Machinery This helps the company to make maximum production, within the actual time allocated for that and use at least energy. More needs to be purchased like computer. Communication It is clear that communication is easy form one office to the other through the well networked phone communication installed and use of mobile phones Criteria Of Employment Through there are advertisement of various job in the organization, the employment schedule is never conducted well. Teamwork. This is that the staff of TEAWASCO are highly co-operated and united so that they achieve their company objectives. 2:5:2 CRITIQUE Lengthy Procurement Process The Company is challenged by bureaucratic procedures particularly in payment of suppliers. Promotions It is expected in any organization that due to the work well done by an employee, that at point in time there should be upward mobility to a higher position and injection of the right kind of people but it is not the case for the company. In adequate storage space: the company is challenged by high purchased made with no adequate storage spaces for the already purchased materials. Motivation and morale: it is expected that the  employees should be treated equally but not the case for TEAWASCO because they favors employees differently according to their departments. 2.6 STRATEGY FOR UTILIZATION OF CONTRACT ESTABLISHED During Attachment During my attachment period I established such a great number of contracts and also made friends and good relationship with the staff and management of TEAWASCO I gained a myriad of contacts with various people through interacting with clients in procurement which will held me to advance more knowledge in future projects. This will help me also to access employment opportunities in future as well as networking. TEAWASCO has presented itself as a good caring partner in provision of water and various projects to a lot of people in a wide area. Reference: This helps me to use the contact for references in future i.e. by including it in my curriculum vitae. Job Seeking. This assists me when there are job advert vacancies at the company I can easily communicate so that they may hire me as I was trained and had experiences at their organization Marketing: This is because I can give the TEAWASCO contracts to some other students who want to be trained to acquire the experience I have. Research Finding: This helps me when doing my research assignment by giving the research questionnaire to the staff at TEAWASCO so they can help me in finding of the unknown knowledge. SECTION 3 3.1 SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS During my attachment period I was able to come up with the following summary. I was glad that I was attached at TEAWASCO especially at the procurement Department. I was able to influence the stakeholder’s attitude so that they can attain their membership at the organization. I was able to apply the purchasing core values like advocacy, honesty, expertise, independence, loyalty and fairness. I was able to practice procurement and purchasing professionalism like trust, ethical guardian. The core values enabled me to carry out my daily activities at the TEAWASCO. I was able to analyze the current treads in the environment together with the patterns of the organization as well as the stakeholders. The experience I got has made me to be a better purchasing prationeer as well as increasing my expertise in handling the clients i.e. the suppliers. My communication skills were also  put into task as there was a lot of interaction among the various employees of the company I had a ple asant and wonderful moment at the company and it really enabled me to be a professional in my line of learning 3.2 CONCLUSION I was very grateful to have been at TEAWASCO. The experience that I gained at TEAWASCO in Nyeri will enable me to tackle the various changes that are encountered in a day office environment especially in a purchasing and supplies Department The Communication skills will enable me to be able to communicate from the top managers to the first line managers and the subordinates. The skills are very vital in an organization as communication is a key element of any organization. The interpersonal skills enabled me to interact with the various employees of the Company. I learnt the basic skill of the office of saying hello and got to interact with the other departments like the commercial, finance, human resource department and revenue department. I got the basic skill of any organization that is teamwork. Some of the conceptual skills that I learnt enabled me to utilize the organizational values, goals, mission, vision and the general objective. I had t work hard to reach the organizations objective. The experience will enable me to competitive in a challenging world. I was able to integrate what I learnt in class. RECOMMENDATION Procurement and purchasing are challenging tasks and also very demanding ones. Entry organization should be in a position to have purchasing department integrated with the other department for effective service delivery. Recommend that the company should employ personnel who are professionals to deal with purchasing work because it is demanding and requires specialized knowledge. Recommend the work done so that the internal and external customer’s complaints are taken care of and also there is mutual understanding between the organization and the various publics Also recommend the long lasting relationship between the organization and the society as that the organization should involves itself in corporate social responsibility activities like employee welfare and wellness programmers e.g. health and safety, healthy like operation smile medical camps,  education and entrepreneurship like student attachment program, environmental like tree planting, town beautification. These activities are highly appreciated by the members of the society. Recommend that the core values of procurement should be adhered to so that professionalism can be maintained. Recommend improvement of managerial practices, professionalism and working relations and partnership with current society, continually improve on work quality, observation of professional and technical standards and regular reviews. Recommend the organization for the establish of an effective and efficient financial and operational framework for improved accountability and transparency. As most people are willing to associate and work with accountable and transparent organizations. Recommend my school for the opportunity granted to have the experience in the organization like this. Students should be keen during the attachment to gain more knowledge during attachment.

Perceptions of African American Women Essay

I am taking some classes that will eventually qualify me to major in Astro – Physics, or Chemical engineering, I also want to work with NASA and train as an astronaut. It was amazing to know that Dr. Mae C. Jemison who happens to be the youngest of three children born to a middle class African American family, Charlie Jemison, a maintenance worker and his wife, Dorothy, a teacher. Dr. Mae C. Jemison was the first black woman astronaut to be in space in an era filled with segregation and racism, she is a Chemical engineer, scientist, physician, teacher and astronaut, she has a wide range of experience in technology, engineering, and medical research. In addition to her extensive background in science, she is well-versed in African and African-American Studies, speaks fluent Russian, Japanese, and Swahili, as well as English and is trained in dance and choreography. Dr. Mae C. Jamison was an inspiration to me, and probably to many African American women. She was full of resilience and determination especially to have reached and achieved success in an unusual field of endeavor for many African American women, I applaud her determination to make a difference among the African American women and blacks in Diaspora. After graduating from Morgan Park High School in 1973 at the age of 16, Dr. Mae Jemison earned a BS in Chemical Engineering from Stanford University, while also fulfilling the requirements for a BA in African-American Studies. After earning these degrees in 1977, she attended Cornell University and received a Doctor of Medicine degree in 1981. During medical school she traveled to Cuba, Kenya and Thailand, providing primary medical care to people living there. This is an indication of her humanitarian efforts and eagerness to reach out to the less privileged population. Having a desire to do more with her life, she enrolled in graduate classes in engineering and applied to NASA for admission to the astronaut program. She was turned down on her first application, maybe because she is a black woman, but she persevered and in 1987 was accepted on her second application. She became one of the fifteen candidates accepted from over 2,000 applicants. When Dr. Mae Jemison successfully completed her astronaut training program in August 1988, she became the fifth black astronaut and the first black female astronaut in NASA history. In completing her first space flight, Dr. Mae Jemison logged 190 hours, 30 minutes, 23 seconds in space, making her the first African-American woman in space. She says, â€Å"I had to learn very early not to limit myself due to others’ limited imaginations. I have learned these days never to limit anyone else due to my limited imagination. † This is an inspiration to other blacks in general who normally assume a second class citizen and believe that they will never do well or will be appreciated in whatever they do. This is a wake-up call, and manifestation of the saying â€Å"Determination is the mother of invention†. In 1993, Dr. Mae Jemison resigned from NASA and founded the Jemison Group, Inc.to research, develop and implement advanced technologies suited to the social, political, cultural and economic context of the individual, especially for the developing world. Current projects include: Alpha, (TM) a satellite based telecommunication system to improve health care in West Africa; and The Earth We Share, (TM) an international science camp for students ages 12 to 16, that utilizes an experiential curriculum. Among her current projects are several that focus on improving healthcare in Africa. She is also a professor of environmental studies at Dartmouth College. Dr. Mae Jamison made a name for herself and name for blacks in general; Her entrepreneurial spirit put her in the limelight and acts as a boost to determined black men and women in Diaspora. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. It was quite surprising to read about Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, I know almost nothing about this â€Å"giant and queen of modern Africa† who is presently the current president of Liberia. According to what I have read so far about this â€Å"queen of Africa† she was born In Monrovia, the capital of Liberia on October 29, 1938. During this period, Liberians had no clue that the First female president of an African country had been born into their mist. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is a daughter to descendents of original colonists of Liberia (ex-African slaves from America, who promptly on arrival set about enslaving the indigenous people using the social system of their old American masters as a basis for their new society). These descendents are known in Liberia as Americo-Liberians. From what I read, I noticed that Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was truly an intellectual power house, a charismatic leader and destined to make a change in Liberia and contribute her quota in Africa. From 1948 to 1955 Ellen Johnson studied accounts and economics at the College of West Africa in Monrovia. After marriage at the age of 17 to James Sirleaf, she travelled to America (in 1961) and continued her studies, achieving a degree from the University of Colorado. From 1969 to 1971 she read economics at Harvard, gaining a masters degree in public administration. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf then returned to Liberia and began working in William Tolbert’s (True Whig Party) government. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf also served as Minister of Finance from 1972 to 73, but left after a disagreement over public spending, this is an indication of her prudence and will power. As the 70s progressed, life under Liberia’s one-party state became more polarized to the benefit of the Americo-Liberian elite. On 12 April 1980 Master Sergeant Samuel Kayon Doe, a member of the indigenous Krahn ethnic group, seized power in a military coup. With the People’s Redemption Council now in power, Samuel Doe began a purge of government. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf narrowly escaped – choosing exile in Kenya. From 1983 to 1985 she served as Director of Citibank in Nairobi. I will say that Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf had a lot of courage, because it was quite unusual for a woman to challenge a dictatorial incumbent president in Africa without being kidnapped, tortured or killed in the process, although She was later sentenced to ten years in prison. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf spent just a short time incarcerated, before being allowed to leave the country once again as an exile. During the 1980s she served as Vice President of both the African Regional Office of Citibank, in Nairobi, and of (HSCB) Equator Bank, in Washington. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf played an active role in the transitional government as the country prepared for the 2005 elections, and eventually stood for president against her rival the ex-international footballer, George Manneh Weah. Despite the elections being called fair and orderly, Weah repudiated the result, which gave a majority to Johnson-Sirleaf, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf eventually became Liberia’s first elected female president, as well as the first elected female president in the continent Africa. . In 2005 She established a Truth and Reconciliation Commission with a mandate to â€Å"promote national peace, security, unity and reconciliation† by investigating more than 20 years of civil conflict in the country and in November 2007, she received the United States Presidential Medal of Freedom, the U. S. government’s highest civilian award. She is truly a giant and â€Å"queen of modern Africa†. References: 1. http://space. about. com/cs/formerastronauts/a/jemisonbio. htm 2. http://www. k-grayengineeringeducation. com/blog/index. php/2008/09/12/first-african-american-women-in-space. 3. http://www. joinafrica. com/africa_of_the_week/ellenjohnsonliberia. htm.

Best Buy Company, Inc Analysis Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Best Buy Company, Inc Analysis - Case Study Example There are few factors which can effect the company i.e economic forces, social forces, cultural and environmental forces, Political, legal and governmental forces, technological forces, and competitive forces. There always been ups and downs in the economy. Either there is inflation or deflation. If the GNP is higher in the economy the income also increases and people can spend their incomes on different items. From last few years US is enjoying healthy economy. That factor is helping the retail industry as well. In future Best buy company profit may increase by as the trend shows. â€Å"Increasing GDP would be good for companies like Best Buy; however the smaller increases in GDP can have a negative effect on not only Best Buy’s sales, but Best Buy’s stock price if investors predict that GDP will fall in the future.†Ã‚  Best Buy Company is also socially committed and believes in literate people about technology. They are socially responsible. The company spent $ 13 million in teach Awards for the school to aware them from the new technologies about the classrooms. They also gave scholarships to the students all over the world. â€Å"Best Buy stores have awarded over $13 million in scholarships to nearly 11,000 students nationwide.†In this modern world, where every day new technologies are coming up and frequently they are becoming outdated. Under this scenario, the Best buy company has to keep itself up to date and must have to keep watch on the new technologies.... Social Forces: Best Buy Company is also socially committed and believes in literate people about technology. They are socially responsible. The company spent $13 million in teach Awards for the school to aware them from the new technologies about the classrooms. They also gave scholarships to the students all over the world. "Best Buy stores have awarded over $13 million in scholarships to nearly 11,000 students nationwide." (http://communication.bestbuy.com) Technological forces: In this modern world, where every day new technologies are coming up and frequently they are becoming outdated. Under this scenario, the Best buy company has to keep itself up to date and must have to keep watch on the new technologies. In this way the company can survive under intense competition. Legal and governmental Forces: Wisconsin State Attorney General's office took a serious civil action against Best Buy Company In 2005. They stated that the company is violating the consumer protection law by misleading the people about service plans, supplemental magazine subscriptions etc. Competitive forces: Where the company is enjoying healthy profits, there the company is also facing intense competition. The biggest competitors of Best Buy Company are Dell, Wal-Mart, Circuit City and all those retailers which are supplying those products on reasonable prices. The company should also bring some changes in their business to stay in the top line. Like, they should also offer their products online as other companies are doing. "To help overcome online competitors, Best Buy allows consumers to purchase their items online. Consumers then have an option of

Final exam paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Final exam paper - Essay Example These different forces include the power of customers, the threat of new entrants into the industry, the power of supplier agents, competitive rivalry and the threat of substitute products (Gamble & Thompson, 2011). This paper will explore the competitive environment of Yahoo, in a structured and clear manner, towards exposing the ways that the company uses IT to counter competitive forces and to cultivate their advantage. The threat of new entrants The threat of entry does not affect the competitiveness of Yahoo, due to the following facts. Considering the fact that a new entrant would need to invest millions of dollars, towards developing a site to compare to Yahoo, yahoo have used the popularity of their internet platform as a mechanism of keeping new entrants out of the industry (Gamble & Thompson, 2011). Further, the Yahoo Company has taken advantage of the fact that it takes many years to build a company that will attract millions of internet users; the company has worked hard to sustain its customer-base and to recruit more over the internet platform, which makes it difficult for new entrants. The company has used IT to create economies of scale, including that, like their main competitors, including Google and Altavista; it has setup numerous servers across the world, which helps it collect information on user habits. The wide network allows the company to offer innovative, unified and customized products, in a better and faster manner, which blocks the entry of new industry players. Brand loyalty is among the premises used by the company to eliminate the threat of new entrants, including that in the area of email communication, the company is the second best service provider, with more than 273.1 million users. Through the wide IT outreach, the company has eliminated the threats of new entrants, by ensuring that the costs of developing a new web-portal and recruiting the customers of Yahoo would time and resource consuming (Gamble & Thompson, 2011). Th e power of customers The bargaining power of the customers of the Yahoo Company is high, which is evident from a number of facts. These factors include the availability of substitute search engines in the market. In countering this threat to the business of the company, Yahoo has introduced highly interactive customer services that create an experience to keep their customers with their company (Gamble & Thompson, 2011). One example of these innovative services offered over the IT platform, with the aim of keeping its customers include that the company offers chat-services over its mail platform, it offers highly non-alterable security for e-mail users and also offers news alerts to its customers (Yahoo, 2013). Therefore, unlike other industry players, the company can keep its customer and attract more, by improving the outlook of their services, towards increase the confidence of their customers in the company (Yahoo, 2013). The threat of Substitutes The threat of substitute produc t

Eassy 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Eassy 1 - Essay Example Ultimately, each of the four determinants that will be discussed act in their own way to provide for the massive diversity of life that is and has been seen on planet earth. With regards to speciation, this is a unique evolutionary concept whereby new biological species arise as a function of split lineages phyletic evolution. As a function of this, the layperson can understand the principle which sees varying differences arise within populations of farm animals as well as key differences arising in certain breeds of dogs as a process of the split lineage model that has herein been described. Although such a model is useful, it places a level of emphasis on something of a closed system due to the fact that a split lineage must signify a type of event that separated two groups in the first place. Although this is of course a fundamental precept of evolutionary biology, it helps to adequately explain the great level of diversity that is currently exhibited within the natural world (Abbot et al 2013). Conversely, an environmental agent of selective pressures denotes the ways in which certain environmental factors act upon creatures to adapt them to the particular way of life that is necessitated within their environment. Evidence of this can of course be seen in the giraffes of the savannah as they were increasingly necessitated to have longer and longer necks as a function of reaching the flora at the top of the tree canopy. In this way, environmental agents of selective pressures can alternatively be read as a type of natural selection. Similarly, with regards to diversity of plants and animals, dispersion is something that ultimately cannot be ignored or disregarded due to the fact that the level of dispersal means that captive groups of species will develop in dissimilar ways to other captive groups of species. Evidence of this can of course be seen in the way that the American

Synthesize a biology topic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Synthesize a biology topic - Essay Example The DNA is the repository of information relating to an organism. Forensic science has utilized this fact to conduct DNA testing of blood samples, which identifies a person without any room for ambiguity. The importance of DNA in studies relating to medicine and evolution is cardinal. DNA and genes are consequential for inheritance, disease, evolution and biodiversity. Specifically, I have been much impressed by DNA replication which could provide a cure for a number of incurable or intractable diseases. Several breakthroughs in cancer therapy have been achieved, on account of DNA replication. DNA replication has great significance for the heredity. In the furtherance of this function, a cell has to utilize hereditary information. Replication ensures transmission of such vital hereditary information. On occasion, hereditary information is not transmitted verbatim, and some changes are effected to the DNA. This results in biodiversity and evolution. At times, such change makes it possible to even find cures for chronic ailments. Thus, the practical value of DNA replication is undeniable. The transmission of hereditary characteristics from one generation to another is effected by genes, which in turn consist of DNA. Replication of the latter results in the copying of genes, which is a semi conservative process that uses just one strand as a pattern for subsequent new strands. Deviations in the replication process have profound effects on human health, and could even lead to diseases like cancer. DNA technology has resulted in crops and vegetables that have higher yield, are more nutritious, better able to withstand disease and drought, and have a longer shelf life. The stability of the genome is not possible in the absence of accurate DNA replication; and the S – phase checkpoint mechanism stops this process, immediately on detecting errors. Resumption of replication is dynamically controlled by the protein Ddk. Any inaccuracy in the DNA

Social Awarness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Social Awarness - Essay Example In a way some sick audience may become victims to such ill movies, which hasn't got any social message. The movies which are actually made for entertainment if causes damage to the society must not be made available to all except to adults under strict rules and regulations. I would to like to take the movie Frankenstein as part of subject to evaluate. This was originally a novel written by Mary shelly, which was later made as a movie. The title name Frankenstein (Victor Frankenstein) is a name of a scientist who is obsessed and crazy of creating life in a dead body. The very first intention of the director to make a horror movie of such genera is it self a matter of concern. It is not that such movies should not be made but basing the total movie on a point like regeneration of human life is unethical and paranoid. Not even the very own base of the movie, the way the movie is made clearly indicates the mediocre and harming the society's nature towards the humanity. He spent many years to acquire dead bodies from grave and also by torturing animals. After ten years of wild goose chase he was finally ready to induce life into his creation. Frankenstein asks his assistant (Fritz) to bring a brain from the university. He drops the normal one and steals a criminal's brain from a dead body. Finally Frankenstein manages to put life into his imagination.

Comparing social behavior between fresh H2O dolphins and salt H2O Lab Report

Comparing social behavior between fresh H2O dolphins and salt H2O Dolphins - Lab Report Example The work also shows that their social behavior is also demonstrated through dolphin human relations behaviors]. *Iriarte, V., and Marmontel, M. (2013). River Dolphin (Inia geoffrensis, Sotalia fluviatilis) Mortality Events Attributed to Artisanal Fisheries in the Western Brazilian Amazon. Aquatic Mammals, 39(2), 116-124. [The author points out dolphins’ social behaviors through the prism of ecological adaptation. His work also offers insight into marine environment. The work also shows how human beings can interact amicably with dolphins without any conflict]. *Lundquist, D.J. (2011). Behaviour and movement patterns of dusky dolphins (Lagenorhynchus obscurus) off Kaikoura, New Zealand: Effects of tourism. A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. [Lundquist’s study offers species specific information on the behaviors of dolphins. His study narrows down to behaviors, which can be assessed at species level. His work attempts to show how travel and movements patterns are critical as dolphins’ social behaviors within a pod]. [The authors’ research is critical in demonstrating social behaviors in dolphins. The study also shows how such behaviors compare with those of other animals as well as human beings. The study also highlights on other random social behaviors are ecologically acquired and serve a specific social purpose]. [The author’s work demonstrates that part of dolphins’ social behavior involves echolocations mechanism of group location. Their work show how high frequency whistles assist in finding mates and social groups amongst dolphins]. *Orbach, D.N., Kirchner, T., and WÃ ¼rsig, B. (2014). Measuring the Mating Behaviors of Free- Ranging Dusky Dolphins (Lagenorhynchus obscurus). Proceedings of Measuring Behavior

Moral Dilemma Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Moral Dilemma - Essay Example (Moral Dilemmas: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) Therefore, it makes good sense to state that for a given agent, under a set of given circumstances, there are reasons to do either A or B, and this even when it is a fact that one set of reasons may be stronger than the other. (Foot, 2003) Does this mean, for a fact, that all moral dilemmas end up with a residue of guilt (Moral Dilemmas and Moral Ambiguity) This is a situation which in essence constitutes a real life moral dilemma: a woman, who is six months pregnant, discovers that she has bowel cancer. She must undergo treatment for the same, which is chemotherapy, but at the same time, she has been informed that the treatment would most probably end up deforming her unborn baby. Should the woman decide to go ahead with the chemotherapy, thus taking a chance with her unborn baby, or must she opt to wait for the baby to be born in order to start treatment, which may in fact endanger her own life What are the ethical issues involved in such a case, and what is the moral dilemma that the woman is facing at the present time The main issue or moral dilemma would be whether the woman must opt to have the chemotherapy or not. What then would be the alternatives for the unfortunate woman What are the different ethical issues that would be involved in the alternative courses of action for the woman Is it possible for the woman to be able to reason out, eventually, which horn of the moral dilemma would in fact be the best choice possible (Moral Dilemmas and Moral Ambiguity) What are the ethical issues involved in this case What, as a matter of fact, is referred to as 'ethics', and what is 'morality' How can an individual behave in a moral and in an ethical manner Today, especially, these issues and other similar ones seem to be overtaking the people, and most especially, younger people, who are faced with rapid changes and developments in all aspects of life. For example, one issue that has been in the forefront for some time is that of 'bioethics'. This is an extremely difficult field, because it is almost all the time concerned with some of the subjects that trouble man the most, life, death, the nature of both, what sort of life is actually worth living, what exactly constitutes murder, how exactly one must treat individuals who are in constant and relentless pain, what sort of responsibilities does one human being have towards another, and so on and so forth. (Issues in Bioethics, ethical dilemmas in biology and medicine) The other topic that seems to be the cause of several rancorous debates between groups of people is that of abortion of the fetus, pregnancy choices of a woman and other related issues. Medical treatments is also one issue that troubles many people, and the related topics here would be what is death, and what exactly constitutes the state of death Is there a bright line of sorts that would identify and state that this is what death is (Issues in Bioethics, ethical dilemmas in biology and medicine) As a matter of fact, doctors are faced all the time with moral dilemmas, and as far as Western medicine is concerned, the doctor-patient relationship gives rise to the 'principle of not doing any harm' or what is known as 'non-malfeasance'.

The Importance of Warming Up Prior To Playing Golf Essay

The Importance of Warming Up Prior To Playing Golf - Essay Example Warming up prior to a game of golf not only enhances flexibility, it prevents injury and improves one's’ game. By warming up ones’ body otherwise tight muscles are stretched and lengthened decreasing the chance of pulling and straining while allowing for optimum performance during ones’ swing. In today’s society, golfers range in ages from teens up to seniors. Certainly, as we age our flexibility decreases and our bone structure changes creating greater challenges physically. Age does not necessarily have to be a detriment to one’s game. It is the approach and preparation that must change. One must treat the body as a finely tuned instrument and by doing so; warm it up prior to execution of the game. A strategic warm up allows the golfer to mentally and physically prepare for the game by going through each stage as if on the green. There is much to consider in the game of golf such as ones’ stance, grip, and setting up of the ball position an d the swing. Where golf looks as though it is an easy and lackadaisical sport, the entire body is in motion when a golfer is taking a swing. One must engage the head and neck muscles, the hands, arms, wrist, shoulders, trunk, legs, hips and the back when golfing. Imagine going into the green cold sans warm up to swing a club and the possible injuries that could occur. What exercises should the warm up programme include? One should focus on doing 10 minutes of continuous exercise to raise the temperature of the muscles, thus avoiding muscle stiffness. Where he found intense stretching is not extremely important, one should perform actions that are similar to what they are about to engage in following the warm up. According to the British Journal of Sports Medicine (Fradkin, Finch, Sherman, 2001) a study was held to determine the proportion of golfers that actually warmed up as well as their warm up behaviours. Researchers directly observed golfers over a three-week period and found o nly 53.4% actually warmed

Applying Ethical Frameworks in Practice Essay Example for Free

Applying Ethical Frameworks in Practice Essay Patient confidentiality is essential in developing a trusting relationship between a healthcare worker and the patient. Confidentiality means that the patients personal and medical information that is given to a health care provider will not be disclosed to others unless the patient has given permission for the information to be released (Confidentiality, 2014). There are situations where a breach of confidentiality may occur and is acceptable. These situations include information when an individual has been diagnosed with a specific disease, such as Tuberculosis or an injury, such as a gunshot wound. Other situations may be when there is evidence that the patient may cause harm to himself or others. The nursing profession is one that promises to abide by the laws of patient confidentiality. Protecting the patients’ rights is guaranteed by both common law-which is the decisions of the courts, and statute law-which is passed by Parliament (O’Dowd, 2014). This commitment to the patient helps preserve high quality care for that patient, as disclosing important information between the patient and nurse, is essential for the patient to receive the appropriate medical care. Patients put their trust into the nurse, as they expect the nurse to respect their privacy, when that trust is broken, the relationship between the nurse and patient declines. Losing the trust is one of the ethical implications that may occur when a breach of confidentiality occurs. Other ethical implications that can occur are disciplinary action by the employer, disciplinary proceedings under the health professionals regulatory statute, and a fine may be imposed (Patient Confidentiality, n. d. ). Pamela G. Nathanson wrote an article in reference to an episode of NBC’s ER which reveals an ER nurse who faces an ethical dilemma in regards to patient confidentiality. The ER nurse has made a promise to two fourteen year old girls that she will not disclose any medical information to their parents. The girls trust the nurse that she will keep her promise; therefore, they disclose their personal concerns. One of the girls test positive for a serious medical condition, at this point, the ER nurse has reached an ethical dilemma. She needs to make an ethical decision as to whether or not she should disclose the information to the young girls’ parents. In this situation, the ER nurse has made the appropriate decision to have a breach of confidentiality and inform the young girls’ parents of their daughters’ medical condition. In understanding ethical theories and/or ethical principles, this has assisted the ER nurse in making the correct decision. Ethical theories and principles guide individuals in making decisions. When using ethical theories to determine an appropriate decision, the theory must be directed towards a common set of goals, which are ethical principles (Rainbow, 2002). The ER nurses’ goal is to ensure that the young girl receives the appropriate medical treatment for her condition. Ethical principles that can relate to this situation are beneficence, which is to do what is good and least harm, which is to do the least harm to an individual. In looking at ethical theories, using Deontology and Utilitarianism is useful in that Deontology relates to the nurses obligations and duties to disclose the information and Utilitarianism relates to being able to foresee the consequences of actions if the information is not disclosed. A utilitarian looks at what is the greatest benefit for that individual (Rainbow, 2002). When an individual is confronted with an ethical dilemma, using an ethical-decision making model is useful. This type of model assists in breaking down all the facts and individuals’ involved in the dilemma and helps to develop possible alternatives to address the dilemma. It guides ones’ decision making from an objective, cognitive perspective, rather than an emotional perspective (GCU, 2014). In the article discussed, the ER nurse can incorporate an ethical-decision making model to make the most appropriate decision. First is to address who is involved and what the actual dilemma entails and identify the ethical dilemma. Next, she can look at the situation at hand and determine how her own personal values see this issue and determine what alternatives can be used to help resolve the dilemma. Once the alternative actions are decided upon, the ER nurse can look at each one and decide if they conflict with her own personal values. If so, she may need to get another health care provider involved to eliminate any biases. In the article, the nurse is advised by the physician that the girls’ parents need to be informed; therefore, guiding her into making the appropriate decision. The next step is to prioritize the acceptable alternatives from most acceptable to least acceptable. The alternatives in the articles dilemma can be 1). The young girl informing her parents herself. The implication with this alternative is that most likely she will not inform her parents. 2). The nurse informing the parents of their daughters medical condition. The implication here is that the patient will not feel she can trust the nurse; however, by choosing this alternative, the decision is in the best interest of the child and 3). Not disclosing information at all. The implications here is that the minor child will not receive the appropriate care needed which will cause further harm. The significance in using this model is to ensure that the appropriate ethical decision is made. Ethics committees are available as well to assist and guide when ethical dilemmas occur. In regards to the article, an ethical committee can discuss the alternatives and make recommendations, still keeping in line with the patients’ rights. These committees focus on issues of morality, patient autonomy, legislation, and states’ interest. They have a significant influence on decision making and the power to influence a judge or jury (GCU, 2014). Ethical dilemmas will always be in a health care professionals’ daily work. Using ethical theories and principles will guide health care professionals in making the most appropriate ethical decision. Following these theories and principles will ensure that the patient is receiving the best quality care that they deserve. References

Handwriting recognition software

Handwriting recognition software Handwriting recognition is said to be growing rapidly in the current globalization. Handwriting recognition is something that is able to describe the ability of computer to translate the human writing to text writing. Handwriting recognition is a method where a computer system can recognize characters. It also can recognize other symbols written by hand which is natural handwriting. This handwriting recognition is a technology that is used to identify certain things and also it is used on devices. For an example, it is used in PDA and tablet PCs. In this device, a stylus is used to handwrite on the screen of the PDA with the stylus and then the computer turns the handwriting into a digital text. Handwriting recognition is a technology that has been in this technology world since the 1980s but only now it has been used rapidly. Handwriting technologys aim is to mainly let people to write what they normally write and it eventually digitize the writing that they made. There are many ways that this handwriting recognition works. Handwriting recognition is an electronic device that is able to determine what is person is writing. This process is done by turning the words into conventional type on a computer and other than that, it also can be done by reflecting the persons handwriting on the computer. There are certain devices that predict what the person wants to write. Handwriting recognition plays a big role in the technology world now. It also plays an important role in the storage and in the recovery of critical handwriting information. This handwriting recognition ensures an accurate medical care and it also reduces storage costs. It ensures that an essential field of research remains available to students in the future. In this era of globalization, technologies continue to improve and improve more in no time. NestorWriter was the first handwriting recognition device found. The one who started the NestorWriter is Dr. Charles Elbaum and he is the one who also developed the NestorWriter. This all happen at the beginning, when many other companies tried to develop these devices and machines all through the years of 1990s. But most of the companies failed, but the devices didnt improve that much as they wanted. There are two types of handwriting recognition techniques; Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and Online Recognition. Optical Character Recognition Optical Character Recognition is the first handwriting recognition techniques. Optical Character Recognition is the most successful handwriting recognition in the mainstream. Most of the scanning suits offer some form of the Optical Character Recognition. This form allows the users to scan the handwritten documents to be scan and it translates the words into basic text documents in the computer. That is how simple and easy it is. Optical Character Recognition is also used by some archivists. They use it as a way of converting large quantities of handwritten historical documents into an easy searchable text documents. The Optical Character Recognition changes the documents into a digital form which can be read and kept safe. This handwriting recognition system is so useful. Online Recognition This is the second type of the handwriting recognition, Online Recognition. This Online Recognition experienced a flow in popularity. Apple Computers released a handheld device called the Newton in the 1990s. This Newton device was made use of the first widely available handwriting recognition interface. A small stylus was used to write on the Newtons screen and this Newton device will recognize the letters that are written and convert as a text document. This made the Newton device to have more popularity than expected. Later as years pass by, the Palm Company tried a new handwriting recognition system. The Palm Company named the system Graffiti. The Graffiti system didnt only rely on the tradition Roman alphabet but the Graffiti system defined more on its own system by using much simpler line-strokes as a stand-in for each and every letter. This was an advantage for the Graffiti system as it allowed a higher success rate in identifying letters and also in learning a users variations. At the same time it made a steep for learning curve which kept most mainstream users at bay. Other than that, the Microsoft Corporations Tablet PCs also make use of the handwriting recognition system. The Tablet PCs didnt take an attempt to learn the users shading whereas the Tablet PCs draw an extensive database of character variation. This system appeared to have a higher success rate than the other adaptive system because of its extensive database of character variation. Handwriting Recognition software became more useful because of the mainstreaming of PDAs and cellular phones with the stylus inputs. This made the handwriting recognition system to be more useful and grow rapidly from time to time. Handwriting Recognition has many advantages that made it grow rapidly in the technology word now. There is much different kind of technologies that abide to enable others to take advantage of the handwriting recognition. The way this work was when people write letters a different way and they let the computer know what the intended letter was and change in to a text document. But the problem with this was the different way that the letters are written and this could make unnatural feel to the person who is writing it. Another way of appreciating this technology is that just write and the computer changes it to a text document but at the same time, the computer doesnt always get the right word and sometimes it insert the wrong letters. Certain cell phones have the handwriting recognition system in it. The advantage of this is that it allows people to write on the cell phones using stylus and then the phone software translates the written words to the phone in text. But at the same time, the problem or called as disadvantage of this again is the same problem that the original software face, which is the unnatural letters strokes and sometimes the software predict the letters wrongly. This is one of the reasons that not all phones have this software in it. Additionally, there are many more advantages of handwriting recognition system. Data storage, for an example, there are many files, contracts and some personal records that contains some handwritten information and notes. Certain of these documents contains original signature or notes that might not be electronically stored but this problems are overcome with the use of handwriting recognition system. Handwriting recognition software allows user to translate all those signature and notes into electronic words in a text document format. The advantage of this electronic storage is that this data only requires far less physical space than the storage of the physical copies. Another advantage of the electronic storage is also that it requires fewer employees to sort the documents through, organize and to keep the data storage warehouse. Other than that, data retrieval is another advantage of handwriting recognition. Physical data retrieval always requires personnel to sort through physical copies of old information. The data must always have been stored and correctly organized and also it must have proper maintenance and upkeep on the physical copies. To retain this information or data, we perform electronic data retrieval by using a file search by using specific keywords, for example, like the names and the dates of the file or document. Handwriting recognition software allows the old files to be saved in a proper electronic format. This is how handwriting recognition software helps in saving the old files or important document. For an example, some clinics prefer keeping their patients medical records and handwriting recognition helps in this situation by keeping these medical records safe in the computer. This data or files can be reviewed and updated time to time when needed without worrying if the date will be lost. Moreover, another advantage of handwriting recognition is historical preservation. Historical papers mostly exists has physical format. Examples of historical papers are genealogical information, written manuscripts, old family records, and some personal diaries and sometimes even shared old past stories. But still sometimes, these historical papers might be damaged or corrupted due to some accidents and there is when handwriting recognition software is really very helpful. Handwriting recognition helps to transform the writings in the papers to a text document format which can also be said as readable electronic format. By this way, historical facts can be stored, reviewed and shared easily too many people. Lastly, the advantage is textual studies. A textual study is a category of literature studies. Literature studies involve reviewing the original manuscripts of literature in comparison with the printed version. This means that the story has been dug and changed at the hands of the editors hand after coming from the hands of the author. This is why original manuscripts are cared very well but still this requires a complete review of the manuscript. Handwriting recognition helps to keep safe these original manuscripts in an electronic format and it can be reviewed without damaging the original copy of the manuscripts. The disadvantage of handwriting recognition technologies is that not everyones handwriting is the same, everyone writes differently. This starts the problem in the handwriting recognition technology when it need to translate a persons handwriting into type and because of this problem many companies failed to perform well because many couldnt effectively use the program well enough. In a nutshell, handwriting recognition is very useful software that really helps to safe and keeps data and documents well. But at time it also has its disadvantage such as that sometimes if fails to read certain peoples handwriting and due to this many people do not prefer to use the handwriting recognition software that much. Even though handwriting recognition has its disadvantages but still it is growing rapidly in the technology world. Handwriting recognition is used when there are certain people who prefer writing on the screens rather than writing it on a paper. As far as seen, handwriting recognition will still grow fast in the technology world if it is upgraded more well.

Crystal Growth and Nonlinear Optics

Crystal Growth and Nonlinear Optics CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO CRYSTAL GROWTH AND NONLINEAR OPTICS 1.1  INTRODUCTION Crystal growth is regarded as an ancient subject, owing to the fact that the crystallization of salt and sugar were known to the ancient Indian and Chinese civilizations. The subject of crystal growth was treated as part of crystallography and never had an independent identity until the last century. It has a long history of evolution from â€Å"a substance potting art† to a science in its own right which has accelerated by the invention of transistor in 1948, and the subsequent need for high purity semiconductor single crystals. Crystals are the unacknowledged pillars of modern technology. The fundamentals of crystal growth was entirely bestowed upon the morphological studies of the naturally occurring crystals. Thus began the scientific approach for this subject during the seventeenth century by Kepler, followed by quite a few others like Nicolous Steno, Descartes, Bartholinus, etc. This type of morphological study slowly led to the understanding of the atomistic process of crystal growth. Recent bursting research on nanostructured materials depend on the crystal growth theory and technology. In the early twentieth century, the crystal growth evolved as a separate branch of science and several theories from Kossel, Donnay-Harker, Volmer and Burton, Cabrera and Frank (BCF) were proposed. Although science of crystal growth originated through the explanations of Nicolous Steno in 1669, the actual impetus to this field began after the BCF theory was formulated and also when there was a great demand for crystals during World War II. Crystal growth plays an important role in material science and engineering. It is an interdisciplinary subject of physics and chemistry. Initially the natural crystals were adored as gems and museum pieces. Later, a transition of crystals has occurred from museum to technology which stimulated crystal grower community to produce large crystals artificially. In the recent scientific era, the utility of crystals has been extended to novel devices such as nonlinear optical and piezoelectric devices. Atomic arrangement with periodicity in three dimensional pattern at equally repeated distances are called single crystals. The preparation of single crystal is more difficult than polycrystalline material and extra effort is justified because of outstanding properties of single crystals (Laudise 1970). The single crystal growth has prominent role in the present era because of rapid technical and scientific advancement. The application of crystals has unbounded limits because of its special optical and electrical properties over noncrystalline material. This means that the new crystals have to be grown and fabricated in order to assess their device properties. The main parameters which involve in crystal growth are nucleation, growth rate, stability, crystalline defects, compositional inhomogeneity and thermodynamics of the source of liquid. The evolution in the crystal growth requires not only scientific understanding, but also the driving force of applied technology which so often provides a significant influence in highlighting the lack of scientific knowledge and need for a more refined evolution of science and indeed the development of new concepts. The studies on the growth and physical properties of single crystals of amino acids and their compounds are of great interest because they possess properties such as piezoelectricity, pyroelectricity and possibly ferroelectricity. In the recent century, the development of science in many areas has been achieved through the growth of single crystals. The single crystals designed for producing second harmonic generation (SHG) received consistent attention for applications in the field of telecommunication, optical information processing, laser remote sensing and colour displays. 1.2  KINETICS OF CRYSTAL GROWTH Crystals are solid substances in general which may be obtained from solid, liquid or vapour phase. Except for solid phase, all other phases yield crystals with developed faces, which represent the crystal medium interface during the development of a crystal from the growth medium. Subsequently, the crystal faces contain information about the nature of the interfaces as well as about the phenomena taking place at the interface. In solid phase growth, some grains grow larger at the expense of others and the interface mainly concave with respect to the growing grain and lies in the interior of the bulk mass. In melt growth, the interface is forced to take the shape of the isotherm inside the crucible containing the melt. However, in both cases, a free development of the faces is rarely encountered. It is also possible to obtain valuable information about the growth processes by using suitable methods. Elementary processes involved in the development of the micromorphology of as grown surfaces of bulk single crystal and epitaxial layers, and of evaporated and etched surfaces under different experimental conditions are essentially similar irrespective of the type of a material. When a crystal nucleus attains a critical size, then it grows into crystal of macroscopic dimension with well developed faces. Several theories have been proposed to explain the mechanism of crystal growth. They are: Surface energy theory, Adsorption layer theory and Diffusion theory. The surface energy theory states that the growing crystal assumes a shape, which has a minimum surface energy. According to adsorption layer theory, a molecule arriving at a crystal surface from the bulk of the supersaturated solution or super cooled melt loses a part of its latent heat. All molecules similar to this move along the surface and join together to form a small two dimensional nucleus due to inelastic collision. Bravious proposed that the growth rate of a crystal face depends on reticular densities of a lattice point of that face. The surface energy is the least when the face possesses the greatest reticular density. The attachment energy is due to Vander Waals force in the case of homopolar crystals and it is due to electrostatic forces in the case of ionic crystals. According to the diffusion theory matter is deposited continuously on a crystal phase at the rate proportional to the difference in concentration between the point of deposition and the bulk of the solution. In diffusion theory, the molecules in contact with the crystal surface are adsorbed quickly. A concentration gradient is thus produced between the bulk of the solution and the growing crystal surface. The mass transfer from the bulk of the solution to the surface involves molecular diffusion. In general, in any crystal growth process, the following steps are involved: (i) Generation of reactants (ii) Transport of reactants to the growth surface (iii) Adsorption at the growth surface (iv) Nucleation (v) Growth and (vi) Removal of unwanted reaction products from the growth surface 1.2.1  Solution, Solubility and Super Solubility A solution is a homogeneous mixture of a solute in a solvent. Solute is a component, which is present in a smaller quantity. For a given solute, there may be different solvents. The solvent is chosen taking into account of the following factors to grow crystals from solution: (i) Good solubility for the given solute (ii) Good temperature coefficient of solute solubility Less viscosity (iv) Less volatility (v) Less corrosion and non toxicity (vi) Low vapour pressure and (vii) Cost advantage Solubility of the material in a solvent decides the amount of the material, which is available for the growth and hence defines the total size limit. Solubility gradient is another important parameter, which dictates the growth procedure. If the solubility gradient is very small, slow evaporation of the solvent is the best option for crystal growth in order to maintain a constant supersaturation in the solution. Growth of crystals from solution is mainly a diffusion-controlled process. The medium must be viscous enough to enable faster transference of the growth units from the bulk solution by diffusion. Hence, a solvent with less viscosity is preferable. Supersaturation is an important parameter for the solution growth process. The crystal grows by the access of the solute in the solution where the degree of supersaturation is maintained. The solubility data at various temperatures are essential to determine the level of supersaturation. Hence, the solubility of the solute in the ch osen solvent must be determined before starting the growth process. The relationship between the equilibrium concentrations as a function of temperature is represented by the solubility diagram in Figure 1.1 which is known as temperature-concentration diagram. Miers carried out extensive research in the relationship between supersaturation and spontaneous crystallization. The lower continuous line is the normal solubility curve for the salt concerned. Temperature and concentration at which spontaneous crystallization occurs are represented by the upper broken curve, generally referred to as the supersolubility curve. The whole concentration-temperature field is separated by the saturated solution line (solubility curve) into two regions, unsaturated and supersaturated solutions. Saturated solutions are those mixtures, which can retain their equilibrium indefinitely in contact with the solid phase with respect to which they are saturated. The solubility of most substances increase with temperature (the temperature coefficient of the solubility is posi tive) and crystals can be grown only from supersaturated solutions, which contain an excess of the solute above the equilibrium value. The temperature-concentration diagram is divided into three regions, which are termed as region I, II and III respectively. Figure 1.1 Miers solubility curve (i)The stable (undersaturated) zone where crystallization is not possible (Region I). (ii)The region II is a metastable zone, between the solubility and supersolubility curves, where spontaneous crystallization is improbable. However, if a seed crystal is placed in metastable solution, growth would occur on it. (iii)The region III is an unstable or labile (supersaturation) zone, where spontaneous crystallization is more probable. If the solution whose concentration and temperature represented by point A in the Figure. 1.1, is cooled without loss of solvent (Line ABC) spontaneous crystallization cannot occur until conditions represented by point C are reached. At this point, crystallization is spontaneous. Further cooling to some point D will produce spurious nucleation. The evaporation of solvent from the solution results in supersaturation. The line AB’C’ represents an operation carried out at constant temperature. Penetration beyond the supersolubility curve into the labile zone rarely happens, as the surface from which evaporation takes place is usually supersaturated to a greater degree than the bulk of solution. Crystals, which appear on this surface eventually fall into the solution and seed in it. In practice, a combination of cooling and evaporation as represented by the line AB†C† is also adopted. 1.2.2  Expression for Supersaturation In order to grow crystals, the solution must be supersaturated. Supersaturation is the driving force, which governs the rate of crystal growth. The supersaturation of a system may be expressed in number of ways. The basic units of concentration as well as temperature must be specified. The degree of supersaturation of a solution is defined using the concept of absolute supersaturation (1.1) where C is the concentration of the dissolved substance at a given moment and Co is its solubility limit. The degree of supersaturation can also be defined as the relative supersaturation, which is given by (1.2) or as the coefficient of supersaturation. (1.3) The quantities ÃŽ ±, ÃŽ ² and à Ã¢â‚¬Å" are interrelated (Khamshii 1969) 1.3  NUCLEATION In a supersaturated or super cooled system, few atoms or molecules join together and a change in energy takes place during the formation of clusters. The cluster of atoms or molecules is called embryo. An embryo may grow or disintegrate and disappear completely. If the embryo grows to a particular size, critical size known as critical nucleus, then there is a tendency for the nucleus to grow. Thus, nucleation is an important phenomenon in crystal growth and is the precursor of crystal growth and of the overall crystallization process. The formation of stable nucleus occurs only by the addition of a number of molecules (A1) until a critical cluster is formed. In general A n-1 + A 1 → A n (Critical) (1.4) Any further addition to the critical nucleus results in nucleation followed by growth. Once these nucleus grow beyond a certain size, they become stable under the average condition of supersaturation of the solution. Further, the creation of a new phase in the homogeneous solution demands for the expenditure of certain quantity of energy. Once embryos achieve this critical size there is a high probability that they will grow, relatively unhindered, to macroscopic size. 1.3.1  Types of Nucleation Nucleation may occur spontaneously or may be induced artificially. These two cases are frequently referred to as homogeneous and heterogeneous nucleation respectively. The term primary will be reserved for both the cases of nucleation in the systems that do not contain crystalline matter. On the other hand, the nucleus is often generated in the vicinity of crystals presented in the supersaturated system. This phenomenon is referred to as secondary nucleation. Figure 1.2 shows the classification of nucleation. The spontaneous formation of crystalline nucleus in the interior of the parent phase is called homogeneous nucleation. If the nucleus forms heterogeneously around ions, impurity molecules or on dust particles, on surfaces or at structural irrgularities such as dislocations or other imperfections is called heterogeneous nucleation. Figure 1.2 Schematic diagram indicating the classification of nucleation Nucleation can often be induced by external processes like agitation, friction, mechanical shock, electromagnetic fields, extreme pressure, ultraviolet, X-rays, ÃŽ ³Ã¢â‚¬â€œ rays, sonic and ultrasonic radiation and so on (Mullin 2001; Laudise 1975; Gilman 1963; Stringfellow 1979; Sangwal 1987; Jancic Grootscholten 1984). 1.3.2  Energy of formation of a nucleus Any isolated droplet of a fluid is most stable when its free energy is maximum and thus its area is minimum. The growth of an embryo or a crystal could be considered as an example of this principle. The total energy of the crystal in equilibrium with its surrounding at constant temperature and pressure would be minimum for a given volume. When a volume free energy per unit volume is considered to be constant ÃŽ £ai ÏÆ'i = minimum (1.5) whereai is area of ith face and ÏÆ'i is surface energy per unit area Thus considering the nucleus to be spherical, the energy of formation of the nucleus is determined. 1.3.3  Energy of Formation of Spherical Nucleus The formation of a droplet nucleus due to supersaturation of vapour demands the expenditure of a certain quantity of energy in the creation of new phase. Therefore the total free energy change associated with the formation of homogeneous nucleation may be considered as follows. Let ΔG be the overall excess free energy of the embryo between the two phases. Since the volume and surface free energies, the total free energy associated with the process can be written as ΔG = ΔG S + ΔG V (1.6) where ΔGS is the surface free energy change and ΔGV is the volume free energy change. For a spherical nucleus of radius r, ΔG = Ï€r3 ΔG V + 4 Ï€r2ÃŽ ³ (1.7) The first term expresses the formation of the new surface and the second term expresses the difference in the chemical potential between the crystalline phase and the surrounding mother liquid. Where ÃŽ ³ is the interfacial tension and ΔGv is the free energy change per unit volume, which is a negative quantity, r the radius of the nucleus. Since the surface free energy increases with r2 and volume free energy decreases with r3, the total net free energy change increases with increase in size and attains a critical value after which it decreases. The size corresponding to the maximum free energy change is called critical nucleus.

The Extraordinary Jimi Hendrix Essay -- Art

The extraordinary performances, recording, and lyrics of James Marshall Hendrix have made him impossible to forget. This American rock music guitarist made a legendary mark not only in the history of rock 'n' roll but also on the pop culture as a whole (Ross 32). With unique techniques never seen before and blatant sex-related performances on stage, he became one of the most influential music figures of the 60s (Kamin). Hendrix was not born into stardom nor was it given to him by any means. He strived all throughout his life to be the very best. Johnny Allen Hendrix was born on November 27, 1942 in Seattle, Washington to Al and Lucille Hendrix, and not until four years later did his father change his son's name to James Marshall Hendrix. He certainly did not lead an easy life with his sporadic schooling and his parents' divorce in 1958. Added to the building pressures, his mother died just one year later ("Jimi", Rolling 42). Hendrix purchased his first guitar in 1958, probably to relieve tensions as it was the same year his parents divorced. It was a used acoustic for which he paid only five dollars. At the age of seventeen with only one year's playing experience, he joined his first band, the Rocking Kings. It may be hard to imagine because of his image, but Hendrix was also in the Army for a brief period of time. He was soon discharged as a result of "medical unsuitability" after a parachuting accident in which he landed on his ankle ("Jimi", Rolling 42). He ventured back to his hometown of Seattle and began playing with Bobby Taylor and the Vancouvers (Wolters, "Pre-Experience"). He seized the opportunity to go on the road after being discovered by Little Richard in 1963 but soon regretted the decision because... ...-seven years old. He became ill from a mixture of wine and quinalbarbitone, a sleeping pill prescribed not to Hendrix but to his girlfriend (Wolters, "Discography"). When the ambulance was called, they rushed to his London hotel and dashed him back to the hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. The attendants had carelessly laid him on his back; as a result of their ineptitude, he asphyxiated in his own vomit ("Jimi", Rolling 94). Fortunately, the tragic death of this young man came after rather than before he had contributed so much to the rock 'n'roll era of the 60s. Not only did he inspire black musicians to persevere in their careers, but he also influenced the entire pop culture with his unprecedented music and stunning performances. In the eyes of many Americans, the legendary rock music guitarist Jimi Hendrix will live on forever (Kamin).

Californias Promise Essays -- State Government, State Deficit

In the 1960’s California experienced reverence through the reputation of being a promising great state. The increasing population as well as the massive publicity, contributed in highlighting this notion. However, in 2011, California no longer holds the same reputation in the eyes of its residents. With a current state deficit of $25.4 Billion, many Californians believe that the state is hopeless and can no longer regain to its past stardom. Famed Historian, Kevin Starr argues that California has lost its promise entirely; however, California has not lost its promise entirely for the fact that California is still the eighth largest economy in the world. California is able to function even with a dysfunctional government and institutional structure. California still has the potential to recover its reputation as a great promising state. By tackling the state’s dilemma, we are able to understand why and how California lost its greatness. Once we analyze the core probl ems of the state, such as the initiative process, the state legislature, and misrepresentation of the public, we will have a better understanding of how to tackle the issue. First, an obvious problem of the state is the usage of the initiative process. Originally, it gave â€Å"Californians the power to propose constitutional amendments and law that fellow citizens will vote on without the legislature’s involvement (Van Vechten, 20).† However, today, special interest groups have used this process abusively. In fact, initiative campaigns became an industry of its own in California. According to Mathews and Mark, â€Å"in 1996, annual spending on initiative campaigns in California topped $140 million (Mathews and Mark, 68).† Special interests groups that are financially well o... ...tion of 38 million people, California still has the potential to be great. If in fact California lost its promise, the state would not have that large of a population nor would it have the eighth largest economy in world. The problem of California is in the structure of the legislature and the institutions and practices that it has. There are unchecked power given to the people through the initiative process and there are fundamental structural flaws in the state legislature. By addressing these problems and critically thinking what needs to be reformed, California can potentially get its old reputation. However, we must reform without unconsciously changing the right things in our state. If California just reforms in the same way it used to, the states’ future may be ruined. Innovative means of solution is needed in order to stir the state to the right direction.

Here Lizard Lizard Essay -- essays research papers fc

How the Snake Lost Its Legs In the article "How the Snake Lost Its Legs," Carl Zimmer wrote about the common theory of snake evolution is about to be questioned. All vertebrates that live on land whether mammalian or reptilian are known as tetrapods. In most animals these feet evolved into other limbs, like arms for humans and into wings for birds; however, the snake lost its four feet altogether. The only sign that snakes ever had four feet is a remaining hip located within the rib cage. Paleontologists and herpetologists alike find it difficult to retrace the ancestry of snakes. Because of their scales, eggs, and subtle features of the skull, some scientists believe that snakes are descendants of lizards. However, this still does not explain how snakes lost their legs. In 1970, a three-foot-long creature, Pachyrachis Problematicus, was discovered near Jerusalem. A Hebrew University herpetologist studied the fossil and suggested that even though the animal looked serpentine there was not enough evidence supporting the theory that it was related to snakes. In 1996, Michael Lee and Michael Caldwell studied the fossil more thoroughly. Lee stated that "The first thing that you've got to do is look at every possible animal it could be related to", he and Caldwell concluded that the Pachyrachis had many snake like characteristics.(Zimmer p.32) For example, "the body is long and sinuous: it has 140 vertebrae in its trunk; most lizards have just 25.&q...

A Dissertation Proposal Essay

Chapter One: The Problems and Its Components The problem to be investigated in this study is school climate, considering and comparing teacher perceptions of both the actual and ideal psychological environment in three different African American private schools. The literature indicates that an open climate with lines of communication that are established at all levels, staff freedom, professional interest, and participatory decision making, among other similar factors, will lead to positive teacher attitudes and improved teacher performance. The relationship between teachers’ perceptions of the actual and ideal psychological school environment has not yet been tested for African American private schools. See more: Examples of satire in adventures of huckfinn essay Problem Background As explained by Beachum and McCray (2004), school climate has a significant impact on the attitudes and performance of teachers in that it influences professional growth and development in academic and social terms, influences the ability to handle work pressures, and ultimately can lead to attrition if the climate is not open and does not have adequate lines of communication. The school’s value systems, work pressures, participatory decision making, resource adequacy, growth opportunity, and student support all play a part in the overall climate of the school (Cole-Henderson, 2000). The study of this climate is of critical importance to the well being, positive attitudes, and professional development of the school’s teachers. The current need to provide every child with qualified and committed teachers in the face of a national teacher shortage supports the importance of conducting research on factors influencing teacher attitudes and stressors in the teaching profession, particularly those that might affect burnout and turnover. It is also clear that a healthy school climate–a school with a strong academic emphasis and a principal who has influence with superiors and is willing to use it on behalf of teachers–is conducive to the development of teachers’ beliefs that they can influence student learning and make a difference. It is also clear that work pressures can exert additional stress on a teacher if the school climate is perceived in a negative light. Numerous studies (Harris, 1999; Jamal, 1999; Ma & Macmillan, 1999; MacDonald, 1999; Remy, 1999) have focused on teacher stress. According to Remy, research has shown that 40% of new teachers leave the profession within 5 years. These studies also have shown that approximately half of all teachers leave the profession within the first 7 years because of job-related stress. Because teaching is a stressful occupation (Ma & Macmillan; Remy; Weiss, 1999), teachers often self-select out of the profession. Schools must then scramble to replace these teachers. Remaining faculty and the school district become further strained in the attempt to make up for the shortage. Knowledge of how teachers perceive the current school climate and what teachers think the ideal environment should be would be of invaluable importance. Theoretical Orientation The literature review will focus on both the conceptual framework of the study and the major variables of concern. The conceptual framework will be based on attribution and motivation theory. The major variables of concern are the ideal and actual perceptions of the school climate by teachers. Initially, attribution theory was presented as a theoretical process in the late 1970s and middle 1980s (Frieze, 1976; Weiner, 1979, 1985, 1986). It provided the framework for examining the responses of teachers to such academic outcomes of students as failure or success in the general education classroom. Since that time a number of studies have been conducted that provide empirical support of its principles. According to Graham (1990; 1991), both ability and effort have been identified as the major perceived causes of individual teacher failure or success. In other words, failure can be overcome by effort, while success comes about as a result of personal competence. Teacher ability is comprised of aptitude and learned skills in an academic context. Effort, on the other hand, is the amount of exertion applied to a learning situation. Attribution can be applied in situations in which teachers try to understand their own behavior. It can also be applied when teachers try to assess the classroom performance of students in order to increase their teaching success (Graham, 1990, 1991). When teachers’ expectations are not met, the instructors may resort to any number of actions. They may often be tardy or absent. In fact, attrition is often the end result. The individuals may also withdraw from teaching psychologically–that is, not concentrate, do no more than absolutely necessary, and have no interest or initiative. As a result, the quality of teaching in general may suffer. Vroom (1964) stated that motivation is a product of the anticipated worth that individuals place on a goal and the chances they see of achieving that goal. According to Vroom, three factors influence achievement: force, valence, and expectancy. Force equals valence times expectancy. Force is the strength of the teachers’ motivation while valence is the anticipated satisfaction from the result. Expectancy is the probability of achieving the outcome. The impact of force depends on both valence and expectancy. For example, if teachers show indifference in achieving a goal, the valence becomes zero. Specifically in his expectancy theory, Vroom (1964) suggested the following: Motivation = Perceived Probability of Success (Expectancy) x Connection of Success and Reward (Instrumentality) x Value of Obtaining Goal (Valance, Value).   From this formula it is clear that a high value for one variables of the formula will result in a high motivation value and vice versa. In Vroom’s (1964) view, the three variables must exist for motivation to take place. Thus, when teachers do not think they will be successful at a task or do not value the results of becoming successful in their school or do not perceive a connection between their attitude and the school climate, it is more than likely that they will not apply themselves to the teaching activity. Organizational theory also relates to the proposed investigative study in terms of communication. According to this theory, restrictive and closed climates with closed lines of communication relate to poor teacher performance (Cole-Henderson, 2000). The school system is an organization, and thus communication theory applies. When lines of communication are closed teachers do not communicate with administrators or students, and school management does not communicate with teachers other than giving orders from the top down. Communication only flows from the top down. In such a school system, the perceived motivational climate is negative and achievement goals suffer (Bennett, 2002). Clearly, when there are open lines of communication, there is more interest in teaching and thus knowledge has more meaning. This translates into improved achievement on the part of both the teacher and the student. It is clear to see that school climate has a decided bearing on teachers in a number of different ways. Purpose of the Study The purpose of the study is to evaluate teacher perceptions of the climate of three independent Black private schools in relationship to the actual and ideal climate. Thus, the purpose is three-fold: 1. To determine if teacher perceptions of the actual school climate differs between and among the three African American private schools included in the study. 2. To determine if the teacher’s perceptions of the ideal or preferred school climate differs between and among the three African American private schools included in the study. 3. To determine if there is a correlation among teachers who teach at different levels in the three schools included in the study regarding their perceptions of their school climate. Research Questions The major research question can be stated as follows: â€Å"Is the actual school climate of independent African American private schools adequately meeting the perceptions of its teachers regarding their ideal school climate perceptions?† From this question several sub-questions have been formulated. These may now be listed as follows: 1. Do teacher perceptions of the actual school climate differ between and among the three African American private schools included in the study, as determined by scores on the actual environment answer form of the School Level Environment Questionnaire (SLEQ)? 2. Do teacher perceptions of the ideal or preferred school climate differ between and among the three African American private schools included in the study, as determined by scores on the ideal or preferred environment answer form of the School Level Environment Questionnaire (SLEQ)? 3. Is there a significant correlation among the perceptions of teachers employed in the three schools included in the study in terms of their view of their school climate, as determined from both answer forms of the School Level Environment Questionnaire (SLEQ)? 4. Do the perceptions of teachers differ for those who teach at different student grade levels, as determined by a comparison of results from the School Level Environment Questionnaire for teachers instructing at different levels? Limitations and Delimitation One limitation of the study relates to the fact that the research has no control over the teacher participants’ reliability. It will be assumed, however, that the teachers will answer the survey questionnaire items honestly and to the best of their ability. There is also a certain weakness associated with only the use of a survey questionnaire to obtain data for analysis. Researchers do suggest the use of two or more sources–that is, triangulation – to produce better support data (Babbie, 2003; Creswell, 2003). With respect to delimitations of the study, the data source of this case will be limited to three independent Black private schools located in an urban city. Definitions Several common terms and designations are used uniquely in the proposed study. These are defined as follows: Independent Black private school. This term refers to a school owned by African Americans which is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operation and is instead operated by tuition charges, gifts, and perhaps the investment yield of an endowment (Mahiri, 1998). School climate. This term refers to the school atmosphere. In restrictive and closed schools, authority emanates from the top down through hierarchical levels. Communication is restrictive and closed. In an open school climate, communication reaches all levels and moves in all directions (Moeller, 2005). School climate perceptions. Teacher views of their school environment will generally influence their motivation to teach, grow professionally, participate in decision making, and handle work pressures. In this study, the term will be operationally defined by scores on the School Level Environment Questionnaire (SLEQ)? Self-concept. Self-concept is considered the most basic and crucial components of personality and can be influenced by environment. Self-concept can become positive in an open school climate; conversely it can become negative in a closed and restrictive school climate. The proposed study views self concept in this context (Branden, 1999). Staff development. For this research project, this term pertains to any activities that attempt to improve the teacher’s ability to implement a new instructional program. Staff development includes an emphasis on attitude, competencies, and knowledge that enhances learning (Sykes, 1996). Teachers’ perceptions. In general, perceptions in the present study pertain to teachers’ thoughts, beliefs, and feelings about professional development training, work pressures, participatory decision making, innovation, staff freedom, student support, professional interest, and affiliation, among other related variables. Their thoughts and beliefs affect their teaching approach and presentation. Teachers are active information processors who affect classroom events as much as they are affected by them (Chance & Costa, 1998). Importance of the Study African American students are not doing as well in school as others and this may be related to their teachers (Tatum, 2006). The findings of this investigative study may provide valuable knowledge about the teachers of these students. Also, other independent schools can use these outcomes to improve their educational programs for teachers and improve teacher productivity. In addition, the implications may insure that the professional and development needs of the teachers are met at school. The proposed study will add to the scholarly research. School reform and restructuring as it relates to professional development of teachers have gained momentum in the United States for the past 2 decades (Sparks, 1997). Meaningful educational reform cannot occur, however, unless teachers are integrally involved in the reform process and unless they have the time and resources to conceptualize the implementation of the changes need in their classrooms. But more research is needed to identify the ways in which the school climate can become more open and conducive to these needs. The significance of the proposed study lay in its ability to add to the database in this respect. The significance of the study and its potential results touches a number of areas and addresses several different audiences. As noted, the findings will add to the scholarly research. For example, understanding factors that influence teacher perceptions of climate in African American private schools can help reveal the underlying logic that influences their motivation, professional development, and perhaps their participation in the decision making processes. Chapter Two: Review of Literature It is important to note that educational researchers have consistently found unequal levels of achievement between African American and Caucasian students (Bankston & Caldas, 1997; Graybill, 1997). Educational specialists such as Hurd (2001) refer to the problem faced by African American students, as the achievement gap and further point out that in today’s school systems less than 60% of African American high school students graduate in 14 years. Joseph (2000) noted that if Caucasian students were dropping out at the same rates as African American students, we would declare a state of crisis in teaching these students. According to Tyson (2002), it is time to require teachers and administrators to address the problem and to consider issues related to achievement motivation among African American students. According to Baldwin, Coney III, and Thomas (1993), the eleven areas of school effectiveness are â€Å"effective instructional leadership, clear and focused mission, safe and orderly environment, positive school climate, high expectations, frequent assessment/monitoring of student achievement, emphasis on basic skills, maximum opportunities for learning, parent community involvement, strong professional development, and teacher involvement in decision-making.† In these areas of school effectiveness, school climate is one of the most important things wherein it has been subject to extensive research. School climate is a term referring to the â€Å"personality of a school,† according to Hoy and Miskel (1982). It is a characteristic of a school which includes the school’s physical structure of its buildings and the interactions between students and teachers. These are the two factors that both affect and help to define the concept of school climate according to Marshall (2004). Les Gallay and Suet-ling Pong (2004), on the other hand, viewed school climate as â€Å"the part of the school environment associated with attitudinal and affective dimensions and the belief systems of the school that influence children’s cognitive, social, and psychological development.† They also cited Ashby and Krug (1998) and Griffith (2000) on what school climate is a how it affect the society. According to Ashby and Krug (1998), school climate is reflected in the social interactions within the classroom and within the school community. According to Griffith (2000), values, attitudes, beliefs and communications are subjective matters; many researches rely on the perceptions of the participants (teachers, students, parents) to measure the effect of school climate. For many years and up to the recent days, the concept on school climate influencing significantly in educational outcomes is still being researched by many researchers. Perceptions on school climate influence many people (e.g. students, teachers, parents) which may also influence the processes and outcomes in a physical, social, and learning environment. Research shows that both teacher and student perceptions of school climate influence student achievement. An early study by Fraser (1989) laid the groundwork for this research. Fraser (1989) studied the effects of classroom environment on student achievement, for example, and found that student outcomes could be improved by creating classroom environments that are conducive to learning. Classroom environments studied by Fraser (1989) used student perceptual data to assess the school environment and reach conclusions. A number of studies have been conducted since the 1980s showing a relationship between students’ perceptions of the school climate in various terms and their achievement in one form or another. In 1995, the study of Bulach, Malone, & Castleman on the investigation of variables related to student achievement showed that there is a significant difference in student achievement between schools with good school climate and schools with poor school climate. On schools with positive school climate, students develop a positive perception on school climate, making them comfortable with the learning environment they are in. On separate studies conducted by Hirase (2000) and Erpelding (1999) on the relationship between school climate and achievement of students, both studies came up with same result that schools with a positive climate had a higher academic achievement as compared to schools with negative climate. Another case presented by Freiberg (1998) showed that the students’ perceptions are important especially during the transition from one school level to another (e.g. elementary to high school). According to him, attending a new school can be frightening for students which could affect their perceptions on the school climate which could consequently affect their learning outcomes or performance. With that, the research showed that having good or positive school climate will result to an easy transition or adaption to the new school environment and a good performance of students may be easily achieved. This chapter will focused more on the theories and studies related to the teachers’ perception on school climate in order to have critical views on it. In addition, this chapter will also present and analyze established studies on the influences made by school climate on teachers’ perceptions and subsequently to the effect of having these perceptions to the assessment and improvement of the students’ performance in school. Conceptual Framework The conceptual framework of the study is related to attribution, motivational, and organizational climate in terms of lines of communication. According to attribution theory, teachers’ perceptions of their school teaching experiences will generally influence their achievement motivation and performance development more than the actual objective of those experiences (Weiner, 1985). School climate is also an important aspect of learning and effective instruction (Freiberg, 1998). When teachers are more empowered, students are able to voice their concerns and learn from the experience. When questions and answers are free flowing, the school climate is open. For example, understanding factors that are influenced by an independent Black school climate such as academic achievement can help reveal the underlying logic that influences teacher motivation and performance (Joseph, 2000). Motivation on the part of teachers is an important aspect of effective instruction (Joseph, 2000). Vroom (1964) defined motivation as a product of the anticipated worth that individuals place on a goal and the chances they see of achieving that goal, as mentioned in Chapter 1. According to him, three factors influence achievement: force, valence, and expectancy. Force is the strength of the teachers’ motivation while valence is the anticipated satisfaction from the result. Expectancy is the probability of achieving the outcome. The impact of force depends on both valence and expectancy. In his view, the three variables must exist for motivation to take place. Thus, when teachers do not think they will be successful at a task or do not value the results of becoming successful in their school or do not perceive a connection between their attitude and the school climate, it is more than likely that they will not apply themselves to the teaching activity. But when teachers are motivated to perform competently in the classroom, they will have more positive attitudes resulting to a positive result to the students. As noted by Banks (2001), school climate can also impact teacher identity. Banks reported that, â€Å"The school climate communicates†¦the school’s attitudes toward a range of issues and problems† (p. 24). School values not in agreement with those of its teachers and a lack of communication and perceptions of shared power and control on the part of administration (teachers and principals), may negatively influence teachers’ attitudes about the school itself and their chances for professional development (Hoy & Woolfolk, 1993). When the climate of the school promotes a harmonious value system that is in agreement school wide, and when high levels of communication exist, teacher attitudes are more positive. Thus it can be seen, as Karpicke and Murphy (1996) have noted, a positive school climate has a great impact on success of both teachers and students alike, significantly encouraging achievement on the part of all. Lynn and Hassan (1999) examined pedagogical practices and beliefs of African American teachers and students at a private middle school in an affluent African American community. Their investigative study provided a portrait of the school and the students in an attempt to raise the critical consciousness of the students. From their observations and interviews, they found the role of alignment between the school mission and teacher beliefs and practices was high. Also, there were shared views about the principles taught regarding the development of moral, intellectual, and spiritual aspects of students. According to attribution theory, teachers’ perceptions of their school climate experiences, whether they be the actual objective of the experience or not, will generally influence their attitudes toward teaching (Weiner, 1985). In other words, teachers try to explain their failure or success by relating (attributing) this to certain school climate characteristics. Weiner (1986) also linked attribution theory to achievement motivation in specific steps. In Weiner’s view, the first step starts with an outcome realization. Deciding whether or not the outcome is negative or positive represents the second step of this sequential process. During the third step, specific information about the outcome is gathered. Next, the search for a cause takes place. This involves a determination as to whether the outcome is the effect of a specific strategy, conscious effort on the part of the student in question (i.e., the doer), or just plain luck. In this way, achievement motivation is explained. McClelland (1985) also linked attribution theory to achievement motivation, but carried the analysis as well as the theoretical orientation a step further. McClelland identified variables or component parts that comprised achievement motivation and subsequently acknowledged some common characteristics. These included (a) concern for personal achievement over concern for external rewards for success, (b) an ability to set obtainable goals, (c) the desire for performance related feedback as opposed to attitudinal feedback, and (d) consistent thinking about ways in which progress can be made which thus increases their achievement levels. Expectancy theory as related to achievement theory is yet another theoretical orientation of the present investigative research. It should be explained that the emotional feelings of achievement and satisfaction are actually determined by each individual. Teachers decide on the degree to which their learning experiences are satisfying by comparing them with their own expectations (Whaley & Smyer, 1998). Aspects of learning that fall short of these expectations can cause discontent. Often teachers compare their perceptions of their school climate to their perceptions of what it should be. If a teacher’s subjective evaluation or perception of ratio of school climate inputs to output (e.g., positive attitudes and satisfaction) is lower than the comparison, the teacher is very likely to be dissatisfied. Expectations and comparisons of perceived worth, however, are subjective, and often biased or even erroneous. Private Schools As the achievement gap grows larger, African American parents have also lost faith in public school education, especially those who have enrolled their children in private schools (Sander, 1997). This is because of some factors such as racial discrimination of the white teachers and white students to black students, low interest of students to go to school for a reason that they develop low self-esteem in school because of diverse ethnicity, and many other more. Black and White parents alike believe that attending private schools would rid their children of such problems as bullying, skipping school, high dropout rates, and would give their children a better chance to higher academic achievement. According to National Center for Education Statistics (2008), there are 28, 384 private schools in the United States now with 6.1 million PK-12 students enrolled. Over 25 percent of the nation’s schools are private schools and about 11% of all students are enrolled in these private schools. On the other hand, the National Center for Education Statistics, which periodically test the grade 4, 8, and 12 students’ skills and knowledge using the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), showed their analysis on the score of students from private and public schools. Based on their results, students in private schools consistently score well as compared to public students. There are many factors that could affect students’ achievement. Factors may include the type of school the student is enrolled, number of students in a classroom (class size), the efficiency of the teacher teaching the subject, the student’s classmates, and many other more including family and social factors that could hinders students’ achievement (Betts et. al, 2003). However, one of the most influential on students’ achievement is the way the teacher is teaching the subject and the values he/she taught to the students. With this reason, the teachers’ perception on their school climate will greatly influenced the way they will teach the students for their perceptions will determine factors that motivates them to teach such as job satisfaction or secured environment. Attribution Factors in Terms of School Climate A number of attribution factors influencing achievement motivation are identified in the literature and are examined in the research. These include (a) school climate in terms of lines of communication, (b) peer influence, and (c) perceptions of educational experiences. Each has an important influence and is considered to be an important attribution variable influencing achievement motivation. With respect to school climate, perceptions are related to their overall educational experience. Studies have shown that perceptions of school climate affect a wide variety of social and academic success factors, and vice versa. For example, the social environment and climate of the school and the actions within those environments influence students’ perceptions of their own effort and success in school (Kaufman, 2004). Moeller (2005) found that students’ perceptions of school climate and their own sense of responsible behavior are correlated. Studies also found that school climate can be effective in many ways. Researchers found school climate positively affect academic performance/achievement. They also found that it influences the behaviour of a student and the decision to remain in school (Monrad et al., 2008). Similarly, according to Kuperminc et al. (1997), a positive school climate showed association with fewer behavioural and emotional problems for students. Smerdon’s (2002) study, which collected data from a nationally representative sample of high school students, discovered that students who may need perceived school membership and open school climate the most and may benefit most from it perceived lower levels of membership than did their peers. The cultural environment in schools can also contribute to African American students’ poor academic performance. Teachers often comment on the fact that these items give them little chance to help African American students in meaningful ways: (a) they often can only maintain minimal order in the classroom, (b) school violence is on the increase, (c) with curriculum requirements teachers have little time to help student’s to fulfill the requirements of the curriculum, and (d) these students become discouraged and very often drop out of school (Hale-Benson, 1996). Voelkll (1995) examined the influence that participation and creating a warm school environment would have on academic achievement. The study included a nationwide sample of 13,121 eighth graders. The finding showed, â€Å"that there was a direct relationship between warmth in the classroom environment parent involvement in the school and students willingness to participate. It seems that participation in class has a distinct and crucial influence on the relationship between students’ perceptions and achievement† (p. 112). In addition, on the study conducted on school climate in urban environments by Haynes & Comer (1993) showed that a positive school climate and is conscious of cultural differences can significantly improve academic success or performance among the urban students. Hoy and Woolfolk (1993), on the other hand, assessed teachers’ perceptions of the school climate as related to organizational health. Specifically, the researchers examined the relationships between two dimensions of teacher efficacy (general and personal teaching efficacy) and aspects of a healthy school climate as defined in terms of institutional integrity, principal influence, consideration, resource support, morale, and academic emphasis. The sample of the study consisted of 179 teachers from 37 elementary schools in New Jersey (Hoy & Woolfolk, 1993). A modification of the Organizational Health Inventory was administered to the teachers to obtain the data for analysis. The researchers concluded from their data analysis that a healthy school climate (strong academic emphasis and a principal who was able to influence superiors on behalf of teachers) was favorable to the development of teachers’ beliefs that they could influence student learning, â€Å"Thus, teachers’ confidence that they can reach students was supported by organizational factors that help teachers manage and teach students† (p. 355). Studies have shown that a positive school climate is associated with increased job satisfaction for teachers (Taylor and Tashakkori, 1995; Ma & MacMillan, 1999), level of work efficacy, and teacher autonomy. Teachers found satisfied in their jobs have more positive views or perception about school climate as compared to those teachers who were not satisfied (Bahamonde-Gunnell, 2000). While on the research conducted by Hirase (2000), the researcher found out that teachers working in a school with positive school climate have greater sense of work-efficacy. The research conducted by Erpelding (1999) found that there is a strong relationship between teacher autonomy and school climate. Same with the studies of Bempah et al. (1994) and Rosenholz (1989), when teachers feel that they have some power or autonomy and also involves into school-level decision-making, they are less likely to leave. Consequently, when teachers feel powerless and alienated, their efficiency to teach lowers (Ashton & Webb, 1986). With an increased in job satisfaction, work-efficacy, and teacher autonomy, teachers will be able to educate the students with quality education, thus, increasing the students’ performance or success in learning and making the school successful too. To support this favourable development of teachers in positive school climate which can lead to successful school, studies also found that a having a positive school climate is related to indicators of school success such as standardized test scores (Monrad et al., 2008). Chapter Three: Methodology Previous chapters introduced the problem of the study, explained the purpose, provided the theoretical orientation, and reviewed the literature pertinent to the major variables. The purpose of this chapter is to detail the methodology that will be employed to collect and analyze the data. Thus, this chapter presents the design, procedures, and analysis plan for carrying out the study. Research Design The method for this study is based on a non-experimental design that focuses on the use of data collected using scores from the SLEQ in a selected population. Thus, the research approach of the study will be descriptive and will essentially represent a quantitative study. Research provides us with a variety of perspectives from which to see things and a way of empirically analyzing our findings (Rinaldo, 2005). It enables use to see from where we have come, provides us with a description of where we are now, and gives us some semblance of the direction in which we seem headed (Rinaldo). Quantitative and qualitative research is vital part of any investigation. Quantitative research is defined as the collection of numerical and statistical data (O’Neil, 2006). Quantitative research is frequently used to investigate research questions. This research often starts with the collection of statistics, based on data, observations, or surveys. One popular quantitative technique is the survey. Surveys can be administered by telephone, face to face, mail, or more recently by the Internet. Quantitative data is described by O’Neil as data which can be sorted, classified, measured in a strictly objective way. The relationship between these variables is expressed using effect statistics, such as correlations, relative frequencies, or differences between means (Hopkins, 2000). The researcher is a very valuable component throughout the collection of data. According to Glesne and Peshkin (1992), when conducting a quantitative study, the researcher is described as being detached, impartial, objective, and portrayal. The researcher’s purpose is to generalize, predict, and provide causal explanations. There are several approaches the research can use. Some approaches are subject to hypothesis, theories, manipulation and control, experimentation, deductive, and component analysis (Glesne & Peshkin). According to Hopkins (2000), in a descriptive study, subjects are usually measured once and no attempt is made to change behavior or conditions; things are measured as they are. Hopkins stated that the aim in quantitative research is to distinguish the relationship between the independent variable and the dependent variable in a population. Selection of Participants Babbie (2003) indicated that it is appropriate for a researcher to conduct purposeful sampling because of the researcher’s knowledge of the population, its elements, and the nature of the research objectives. In addition, Babbie (2003) suggested that a researcher may want to study a small subset of a larger population in which members of the subset are easily identified. It is for this reason that three African American private schools in one urban area in the United States were selected for inclusion in the study. These will be named A, B, and C to ensure anonymity. Together, the study population total will be 67 teachers instructing preschool through twelfth grade. All will become the target population. Those who agree to participate in the study will become the sample. Their responses will provide data regarding their perception of the climate in their school, both actual and ideal. School A focuses on educating students ages 2-12 and strengthening basic educational components to prepare students to be competitive in a global society. The co-educational school enrolls 121 students in grades prekindergarten to fifth grade and employs 20 teachers. The student to teacher ratio is 9.3:1. All of the students are African American. School B is a Christian school. The co-educational school enrolls 220 students in grades prekindergarten to twelfth grade and employs 26 teachers. The student to teacher ratio is 7.8:1. Ninety-eight percent of the students are African American. School C has built its program around the concept currently known as African-Centered education, a holistic approach based upon the premise that children excel academically and intellectually when the curriculum, teaching methodology, and environment reflect the builders of yesterday and the ideas of the future. The co-educational school enrolls 215 students in grades prekindergarten to eighth grade and employs 21 teachers. The student to teacher ratio is 10:1. Ninety-eight percent of the students are African American. Instrumentation Data used in the proposed study to analyze the perceptions of teachers will be collected through administration of a test instrument, the School Level Environment Questionnaire (SLEQ), as developed by Fisher and Fraser (1990) and published in the Handbook of Tests and Measurement in Education and the Social Sciences (2000). The SLEQ is comprised of 56 items that measure teacher’s perceptions of the psychological environment of a school. As explained by the originators, the SLEQ consists of two answer forms–one that measures the actual environment as perceived by teachers and the second that measures the ideal or preferred school environment. Three different teacher samples assisted in the development of the test instrument (Fraser, 1989). Alpha coefficients ranging from 0.70 to 0.81 were provided as an estimate of the internal consistency of each of the eight subscales. These subscales include student support, affiliation, professional interest, staff freedom, participatory decision making, innovation, research adequacy, and work pressure. Each subscale consists of seven items which, when added together, provide a separate score. The scale development for the SLEQ was derived from the Work Environment Scale (Fraser, 1989). It is divided into three basic dimensions. These include relationship, personal development, and system maintenance and system change dimensions. As reported by Fisher and Fraser (1990), these broad dimensions were used for the development of the SLEQ. Non-participatory decision making (suggesting a closed school climate) is indicated, for example, by such items as â€Å"I have little say in the running of the school† and â€Å"It is very difficult to change anything in this school.† Resource inadequacy is indicated by responses to such items as, â€Å"Tape recorders and cassettes are seldom available when needed† and â€Å"The supply of equipment and resources is inadequate.† Assumptions It will be assumed that all study subjects will answer the survey questions honestly and to the best of their ability. It is also assumed that the students in the three schools where their teachers are being surveyed will be representative of the larger population of African American students attending an independent Black private school. Procedures Data will be collected by the researcher from the teachers at each school at a time selected by the administrators and researcher. The purpose of the study will be presented to the teachers and the questionnaires will be distributed. The researcher will remain until the teachers have completed the questionnaires and will collect the completed forms before leaving the meeting. Those teachers who agree to participate and return completed survey forms will become the sample. All respondents will be asked not to sign their name. In this way this researcher can assure anonymity. Those who wish a copy of the results when the study is completed will be asked to provide an e-mail address to be used for this purpose only. Data Processing and Analysis Data collected from survey questionnaires will be assessed to determine whether teachers’ perceptions of their actual school climate are similar to their perceived ideal school climate. The perceptions will be compared. Teachers’ view of the ideal and actual psychological environment will also be compared across the three African American private schools included in the proposed study. Findings from the analysis of data will be reported as descriptive statistics. These include standard deviations, percentages, mean averages, and others of a similar nature. From this information, implications and conclusions will derive from the teacher perceptions. Findings from schools will be compared to each other and to those in the literature. References *Anderman, E. M., & Maehr, M. L. (1994). Motivation and schooling in the middle grades. Review of Educational Research, 64, 287-309. Ashby, Dianne E., and Samuel E. Krug. (1998). â€Å"Understanding and Promoting School Climate and Culture.† Thinking Through the Principalship. New York: Eye on Education Inc. Ashton, P. T., & Webb, R. B. (1986). Making a difference: Teachers’ sense of efficacy and student achievement. New York: Longman. Atkinson, J. 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