Thursday, October 31, 2019

Analyzing a case study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Analyzing a - Case Study Example Most companies use this before they implement a new project. This helps them understand the requirements even as they conduct market research. Strengths and weaknesses are internal factors while opportunities and threats are external. The MM Company has a good financial record since the introduction of green meters. This is evident that the product will do well if introduced to customers. The other strength of the project is that it was popular in the company. It is therefore, easier for the marketing team to convince the customers. In addition, the implementation of the project has executive support. Smith promises full support of the project, and this makes it easier to implement the project. The green project is the first one to be implemented in the market, and therefore, no competition. The company will have a competitive advantage because it will dominate the market. The project needs an outside-in approach. The manufacturing department cannot work alone. There has to be integration of all departments. For instance Werner argues that the company has been operating on separate systems for each of its silos. But this project will go against the culture and processes of the company. The project will have to integrate with IT‘s information Management Renewal project. Working with different departments in the company poses a huge political challenge (Kim, 2010). Another weakness is resources. Werner argues that MM has people but they are not able to work within the promised time. Lack of human capital will make the company incur costs of employing others who have technical skills. Delay is also another weakness whereby the project fails to meet a deadline. This will mean to put pressure on the working team. Strategies have to be implemented to ensure the success of the project. New advertisement strategies need to be employed. Since the Green project is popular in the company and the product is new in the

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Philosophy of religion exam review questions answers Essay

Philosophy of religion exam review questions answers - Essay Example 397). What does he mean by this? William Cavanaugh wrote his essay as he is unpleasantly surprised by the fact that the government wants the religion to play the role of â€Å"peace creator†. Such approach can easily return us to the Middle Ages’ level of development as every person in democratic country should feel free in choosing his/her religious beliefs. Our ethical principles should be based first of all on justice, democracy and positive examples and religion should not direct our behavior. Actually during â€Å"the wars of religion† there were many alliances created not because of religious allegiance. The perfect example of is the alliance during the 3rd war when protestants were allied to William of Orange who needed that alliance in order to establish political control. â€Å"Wars of religion† usually served as pretexts for starting military actions to establish control in another country. The term â€Å"development of doctrine† was used by John Henry Newman, who studied how religious dogmas were developed through time. He made the conclusion that Catholic teaching was the most developed through time in comparison to other christen teachings, the dogmas of which mainly remained unchanged. The views of Plato and Freud were similar in one thing: they considered love to be the most important in our life. However, Freud considered love to be the production of physical desire, while Plato stated that physical desire is the consequence of spiritual affection. Plato was against sexual activity that is fulfilled only to satisfy physical needs. He valued spiritual love high and considered erotic attraction of a person to be the consequence of spiritual affection. According to Plato, erotic attraction does not depend on appearance or sexual appeal, it fully depends on spiritual feeling. The first principles are found when our

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Processes of Business Research

Processes of Business Research Introduction Here we understand what research is?; it is another word for gathering information or facts or data. The more information, facts, or data we have is helpful to solve the problem and make our own good decisions. Business Research subject end result is action and implement the advance knowledge we gained by contributing to our own challenging life or future business aspects. We interact with everyday people of ordinary people and extra ordinary people such as teachers, students, scientists, professors, scholars, business owners, librarians, book keepers, politicians and many more which was the result of advance knowledge created in the past to gather information. Accordance, to the three year degree program and final year first semester one subject; business research helpful students to be aware of their surroundings and accommodating to answers to the business related questions. Subsequently, we have learnt about how research contributes to management, identification of the research process such as; discovering the management questions and research questions, research proposal, research design, data collection and preparation, data analysis and interpretation, report writing and etc. Also, how to use the secondary data to answer management questions, identify and apply appropriate designs for conducting specific business research, how sampling is accomplished in survey research and the difference between probability and non-probability sampling and formulate testable research hypothesis based on management questions. Learning Experiences 2.1 Learning Experiences of Business Research Learning is all about gaining knowledge of or skill in by study, experience or being taught. Learning experience is observing and reflecting on the consequences of an action in a situation. Concrete experience Testing implications of Observations and reflections concepts in new situations Formation of abstract concepts and generations Figure 1. The experimental Learning Model Learning has considered as a four-stage cycle. Gradual experience is the basis for observation and reflection. Today, successful manager or administrator is differentiating from each other by not having the knowledge or skills by their capability if adopt and familiarizing the changing demands of their job and career by using the learning skills. There is a mortal about learning such as one learns or he/ she does not. More explains mortal about learning is deficient of accepting the learning process. 2.2 Learning processes of Business Research Coventry University in United Kingdom provides with vast opportunities and links for the career path of a business student. Academic career gives the opportunity to select the career path in chosen and pretend field. Combination of academic and business link provides the authority for both educational and the corporate sector experiences. Most of the research standards in the reality of business as most of the theories are ratify in real world of business. Research simply means a search of facts solutions to problems and it is systematic and methodical investigation. In addition, it is an organized inquiry and increases knowledge. In the environment, there are different issues such as socio-economic, health problems, human relations, marketing, production, finance etc and research provides answers to those problems taking place in the society, industry and trade. A research project allows students to apply theory to, and or analyze more issues that are general. It offers students an opportunity to identify and select a research problem and investigate it independently. In Business research we learn about research concepts which explains definition and application of research and formulating and clarifying the research topic, literature review which conduct how to do a literature search and critically review and analyze the literature, the research proposal, research design, data gathering sampling and questionnaires such as identifying the population sampling procedure, advantages; data gathering questionnaires as different source of data collection, data gathering interviews and alternatives, reflective journal writing and reporting results by written format and by presentations. Accordance to the Business Research all ten topics are interesting and effective. But the most interesting topic was data gathering, sampling and questionnaires; which is a vast area of business research subject. Business Research methods or techniques vary from size of the company and information required. For an example, customer research might engage with customer feelings or experiences about utilizing a product or service by using customer satisfaction methods such as questionnaires, seminars or interviews. When researching public information, business statistics on financial and educational information in relates to product usage, customer demographics and hours of television viewed by customers in a one geographic area will be av ailable as a end result of the research. Sampling help us to overcome constrains and to carryout, our work effectively and make our judgment accurately. Besides, it helps limit the item selection in a suitable manner without making unnecessary expenses with budgetary requirements. Sampling procedure, which contains with nine topics, was new to learn in business research subject. It helps in decision making. Learning reasons of Business Research Business Research is important within the organization or outside the environment issues to be solve and find the solutions. Research helps to solve existing decision-making problems, which makes the organization more profitable and solve problems of immediate concern. Most organizations put much effort to gather information before they make decisions. Research has need of effort, time, and money to have data collection to make good decisions. Business Research consists of a program which tells and show how appropriate the collected and scrutinized information that always supportive for good decision making. When the research and analysis are completed, the result is communed to management. This is why business research is important as it provides information; concerning critical issues that have an influence on the target market and marketing mix. In addition, business research is corporate to modify the market and solve the organization uncorrected or wrong data to remote regions at affordable cost and business to earn more profits. Business fail to continue in resourceful way without business research and it is vital for every field of business. Therefore, we cannot run our businesses without business research. When learning about the business research, it helps us to conduct our own research to benefit our business and future. From time to time, good blueprint of instructions helps with the research process. Learning Experience in relation to academic development I have been involved in Business Research by identifying and classifying dissimilar diversity learning methods and the end result of it. The intension of this research of this business research is to recognize unusual methods have been taught and implement to solve organizations problems and to identify the learning styles and suitable learning modes which is available and to improve with the design of learning experiences. There are two goals of academic development; such as particular detailed subject matter and learning about strengths and weaknesses as a learner. Understanding on the subject matter and strengths and weaknesses helps and support a framework for continuing learning on the job. Learning experience is not restricted to the classroom but also turn out to be an essential and unambiguous work. On the job experience; becomes a focus for testing and exploring new ideas. Learning Experience in relation to Professional Development In Business Research studies practical professional development of statistical power is important as; planning of sample sizes prior to gathering data used to evaluate statistical hypotheses. This helps to conclude apposite sample size; has important limitations in actual business research studies. More important relative to research proposal and main report in sample size approach is available with statistical testing of multiple hypotheses using different testing methodologies. Therefore, dissimilar hypotheses need to be involve with; correlation or regression analysis, the use of structural equation modeling, analysis of variance. As a result, the employ of the sample size strength of mind in decision making and in the main report most such studies and at work. In addition, this subjects directions for future business too. It helps for my research goals such as; product or service I want to sell or to determine potential market, size of the competition or to test the effectiveness and the market position of the product and service of my future intend business. Learning Experience in relation to personal development Own personal development plan is a key fundamental part of our career journey. During the three year degree program thorough knowledge about the subject, diversity of skills that we develop is essential to become an independent researcher in everyday life. We need to understand and identify the starting point and where you want to be to sequence to plan well-organized, resourceful and competent direction to obtain where we want to be in future or in a business position. Therefore, business research program has been helpful to indentify my current skills and in order to proceed with all the design took to track the career journey. In addition, I have learnt; a range of social research methods techniques and skills and how they has been used to address particular research questions in management and business settings, survey design and analysis, a range of qualitative research methods, a range of quantitative methods of analysis, project planning and development, ethical problems and issues related to social research and management research in particular and how research in various management specialism have developed. Conclusion In business, environment research is a essential key our everyday decision making. It helps to find out the wrong information and save money and time. Research is significant success as acquiring day to day life challenges and decision making. Research plus action will assume a successful researcher. Research aim is to resolve the business or everyday life issues or problems, which occurred before or present with profitable or immediate concern. This helps to understand how research impact on our everyday and business decision making. Most people do not put much effort to collect or back up information or data. Only few do back them up. There is a risk or cost of making important decisions without gathering information for evidence for future reference.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Ten Important Factors of Googles Local Search Algorithm Essay

10 Important Factors of Google's Local Search Algorithm Different factors affect rankings on Google Maps. Based on my experiences with local costumers here are the top 10 most essential things to consider for your business. 1. Your business address. Your business location is important, if you want to get a rank for a certain city. A friend of mine ranks high on "richlandwa real estate" because that's where her address is, she is nowhere to be found for "Kennewick" or "Pasco" (the other major local cities) keywords. There is an exception: She ranks very for "West richlandwa real estate," for the reason that it's just a real estate agent with offices in West Richland (Tri-Star). 2. Business categories. I was hesitant at first in naming the most important factor between this and the next factor. However, I think it's something more important to your business if it is properly categorized rather than getting the right keyword in your company name. When I dug into the" san francisco bakery" 7-pack, all the seven companies categorized as a bakery. Other searches often give the same results. 3. Right keywords in your business name. watching for real estate keywords made me place this criteria. These days agents who prosper in this field have "real estate" attached to their name. In my opinion, LSRF's replies were a disgrace because many people focus on the spam area. There are many businesses that have keywords in their name. For example, I had lunch at Henry's Restaurant yesterday and I'm confident that this will help them get a better rank. 4. Quality of citation. According to David Mihm, local citations are the "new links." Google validates your business location, contact information and name through quotes. Meani... ...rder of a museum that shows up in results? Some of it is the distance, and others are on the relevance to the search. Some of it is the primary factor of the actual activities " Hence, let's look at my rank ten factors related to Google's terminology. Location or Distance: Two of my factors were included: your business address (1) and the nearness of the site (8). Others also fit: complete business profile, plays a role (5), because you must provide a location. Consistency of business data (6) will also define your location. Relevance:Business categories (2) and right keywords in your business name (3) and Specific traditional SEO factor (10) defines this area. Significance: From my list, it consist of quality of citation (4), ratings and reviews (7) and my maps and other user content data (9). All of this help in making a local company more prominent.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Behaviorism and Its Critics

Behaviorism is the psychological application of logical positivism. Positivism, whose basis is in the 19th century, yet whose antecedents come much earlier, is designed to force epistemology into a purely scientific context. In so doing, it helped define the scientific method, as well as creating a stir in philosophical circles. This paper will do several things: it will define behaviorism and positivism, it will link the two together as one basic movement, it will detail some of the movement’s critics and finally, look at a possible application of behaviorism.Positivism and its daughter, behaviorism, derived as a critique of idealism, or, to define this somewhat eccentrically, the idea that mental states are, or can be, expressly determining of human behavior. Historically, such a view was held by such wildly diverse thinkers as Plato, Hume, Fichte, Nietzsche and Freud. While, at the same time, the more positivist and materialist vision of human behavior was held by Thomas Ho bbes and Karl Marx, both of whom held that material and external explanations of human behavior were wholly adequate to understand motives for action.In other words, for the behaviorist, external forces, forces that can be publically understood and witnessed, are fully proportionate to the acts that they cause. Behaviorism, as first defined in an explicitly scientific, psychological context by Watson (1912) is a reaction to idealism, loosely defined, that sought explanations for human action in internal mental states. Watson, at one fell swoop, eliminated consciousness from scientific explanation.Consciousness was something that could not be analyzed scientifically because it was a private affair, something experienced at an intimate and immediate level, and, hence, could not be the subject of a scientific experiment where all the relevant variables were available for all to see. In essence, Watson held that psychology can only be scientific by holding to the tenets of logical posit ivism. Psychology must use variables that are easily quantified, public and objective.Hence, mental states and consciousness as the basis of these mental states are not variables. In fact, Behaviorist Gustav Bergmann (1942) and B. F. Skinner (1978) held that such terms were meaningless, since they referred to nothing that can be quantified. Hence, if such terms were used in a scientific paper, they refer to nothing, and hence, create a question that cannot be solved, since the terms are not properly defined. For Watson and his followers, mankind was, in a psychological sense, no different from animals.Both humans and other animal species were fully determined by material causes acting on the human being, in terms of social forces and internal behavioral dispositions explainable in material terms. If this is true, then all personal and social behavior can be predicted and controlled (Harzem, 2004, 9). In summary, Watson and his followers were trying to create a form of psychology tha t could do away with all the ambiguities of the language of the philosophy of mind. Consciousness was not definable in quantifiable categories, and hence, was not scientific.Psychology then, could only proceed if it relied solely on quantifiable phenomenon and assumed that this was sufficient to give a full account of human behavior. This method of psychology was not without its critics. The main criticism of this approach is that it is simplistic. This criticism has been leveled many times against the logical positivists, not the least among such critics have been Nietzsche, Dostoyevskii and Sartre. For all three of these writers, the human subject is free, which means that physical causes and quantifiable categories do not suffice to complete account for specific human behaviors.For all of these famed writers, the human ego could detatch itself from its external surroundings and current mental states and hence direct itself. Dostoyevskii goes so far in his Notes From Underground a s to say that the deliberate believe that 2+2=5 is justified as a means of preserving one’s freedom of choice from the oppressive, materialistic straitjacket of scientific methods. From the point of view of pure psychology however, the first and most important of Watson’s critics was E. B. Titcherner (1917), who criticized Watson and his ideas on several areas.First, that the concept of science of the positivists was too narrow. It was an arbitrary Procrustean bed that eliminated some of the most important and intimate of human experience, which is the whole point of psychology in the first place. This has always been the existentialist criticism of positivism, that so much of what makes a human human is eliminated by the arbitrary demand that all relevant variables be quantifiable. It is almost as if the positivists demand to be the gate keepers of not only scientific answers, but also of the questions themselves.Nevertheless, Titcherner does hold that the positivist critique did some good for the discipline in that it did force psychology out of its older, purely internal methods. Prior to Watson, the discipline was concerned solely with internal mental states, and hence, lacked a certain scientific â€Å"rigor† to its conclusions. Furthermore, the clarification of language was also necessary and important. Hence, while he is willing to claim that the behaviorist is too doctrinaire in his views, that school was a necessary addition to the discipline.Secondly, Titcherner holds that it is arbitrary to say that consciousness cannot be a scientific object of study or explanation. And thirdly, that the positivists were holding that the concept of observation is also too narrow. Observation was somehow confused with quantification. If consciousness is a phenomenon, then science has something to say about it. Quantifiability is not the sine qua non of the scientific approach. The positivists, of whom Watson was an avid follower, eliminated thou ght, mind, and sensation from scientific study. This was unacceptable from both a scientific and specifically psychological point of view.Gustav Bergmann (1942), defends Watson’s basic theses a generation later on several counts. First, as a typical positivist, he is concerned wit the construction of a â€Å"meaningful† question or proposition. In order for this to be the case, the words in the proposition must be clearly defined and understood. X must mean x, and not x+y; connotation and denotation must be the same thing. Hence, the question is of clarity and public â€Å"observation† of the relative phenomena. In his (1942) essay, Bergmann holds that the most significant contribution to scientific discourse in his time was the positivist insistence on the clarification of language.For example, when one speaks of carbon, there is a very specific, definable and understandable entity involved. There are not two carbons, and there is no distinction between the con notation and denotation of carbon. The word â€Å"mind,† however, is very different. It can mean mental states, it can mean behavioral characteristics, it can mean personality, it can men general moral dispositions, as well as a host of other more nuanced ideas contained in the very general idea of mind,. Given this confusion, it cannot be meaningfully used in a sentence.Skinner (1978) went so far as to attempt to eliminated such words in psychological discourse (quoted in Addis, 1982). In other words, the positivist critique is not so much obsessed with quantification, but with clarity of language and scientific discourse. An important critic of the positivist/behaviorist approach is Peter Harzam. In his (2004) essay, he criticizes behaviorism on several grounds. Following Titcherner, Harzam holds that the assumption of materialism that undergirds behavioral methods is a non-scientific assumption.Materialism is one of those â€Å"nonsense† words that positivism must r eject, though it is almost always reluctant to do so. Materialism is not a scientific view, but rather a metaphysical one. Secondly, he is suspicious as to who the media and government establishment loved Watson so much. It seems that he opened up the door to later developments in psychotropic drugs, surveillance and an entire infrastructure of control that is based on behaviorist ideas, specifically, the idea that human beings can be manipulated like cattle, so long as the elite have adequate ideas as to what makes humans act.Though Harzam does not explicitly say this, it is a clear and uncomfortable conclusion of Watson’s teachings. And third Harzam holds that consciousness can be a scientific variable precisely on the grounds that it is experienced as the ground of experience, and therefore fits into the older, purely empirical scientific model of inquiry. Another critic of this regime is Laird Addis, who in his (1982) essay deals with the history and struggles of the beha viorist paradigm.Addis criticizes the behaviorist school in its large number of assumptions that it brings to psychology, namely that of materialism (again), and the basic notion, central to all who call themselves behaviorists, that all human actions whatever have an adequate cause that is quantifiable and material, that is, independent of consciousness or its objects. He wants to make a key clarification, however, and say that the positivist analysis holds that extra-physical ideas need not be taken into account to have a full understanding, but that such ideas can assist in clarifying the basis, physicalist account of action (Addis, 1982, 401-402).Like many others, Addis is uncomfortable with Watson’s early idea that control and prediction is the aim of science. Here, a rather social and political agenda has invaded the rarified air of positivist science. It is truth and adequacy that is at the center, not the eventual control over human behavior that Watson and Skinner se em to insist upon. A possible use for behaviorism has already developed substantially, that is, the development of chemical alterations of behavior.At best, this approach holds that mental states are wholly physical and hence, can be manipulated by physical means. If one reduced mental phenomenon to chemical causes, then one has reduced the mind to the interactions of chemicals and their synthesis in specific actions. If this is done, then certain drugs can be developed and administered that can alter the chemical interactions by adding new ones, and hence, affect the reaction of the person.The chemical approach to psychology is something purely positivist in that the language is clear so long as it retains the technical language of chemistry, it is publically understood since chemical interactions can be replicated in a laboratory, and the concepts of consciousness and thought are eliminated as causal variables. Hence, the development of drugs to deal with obsessive compulsive diso rder, depression and bi-polarity derive from the Watsonite approach.To conclude, it is clear that the Watsonite theory of human behavior is simply a positivist approach to the philosophy of mind. It approaches this discipline by negating it. Its basic ideas are that a) for any human act x, there is a completely adequate explanation y. b) y is always reducible to clear, quantifiable, and publically understood language. c) if not, then y is not completely adequate. Hence, there is an intersection of the clarity of language with that of quantifiability.Words in scientific discourse can only mean one thing, and cannot have the shades of meaning that make denotation different from connotation. Hence, many followers of Watson insist that their movement is based solely in the clarification of language rather than a elimination of concepts tout court. References: Addis, Laird. (1982). Behaviorism and the Philosophy of the Act. Nous, 16, 399-420 Bergmann, Gustav. (1942) An Empirical Schema o f the Psycho-physical Problem. The Philosophy of Science, 9, 72-91. Harzam, Peter.(2004). Behaviorism for the New Psychology: What was Wrong with Behaviorism and What is Wrong with it Now. Behaviorism and Philosophy, 32. 5-12. Watson, JB. (1913). Psychology as Behaviorism Views It. Psychology Review 20, 158-177. Titchener, EB (1917). On ‘Psychology as Behaviorism Views It. ’ The Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, 53, 1-17. Skinner, BF. (1978). Reflections on Behaviorism and Society. Prentice Hall. Dostoyevskii, Fydor. (2006). Notes from Underground. Waking Lion Press.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Farewell Speech Essay

â€Å" Every new beginning comes from some other beginnings end. † – Seneca. Middle school ended and now High school has begun. We all go into high school not knowing what to expect. Like if you’ll have the same classes as your best friend, if you’ll have nice teachers, or if you’ll get dumped in a trash can on â€Å"Freshman Friday. † The toughest thing is not knowing which of your friends for middle school will be at your school and which ones won’t be, if your best friend is going to a different school then you. But it’s O. K. high school is a new beginning we get to reconnect with old friends from elementary school and see our friends from last year to. As time goes by and with each of our classes you build new friendships that strengthen as the year goes on. The more you get involved in school the more you get to become friends with more people. I did Cheerleading for school this year and I have no regrets, I made so many new friends because of it they’re like my sisters now. I was also a wrestling manager and that was great I can’t wait to do it again next year, I didn’t only become close with the other managers I also became close with the wrestlers, they’re like brothers now. But no matter how many friends you made in high school you never lose touch with the ones you had in middle school. Every Freshman had those â€Å"Freshman Fears. † Some not as bad others, but everyone has them. Like the fear of â€Å"Freshman Friday† it’s funny because we never actually had that. It’s something they say to scare us†¦. And it works every time. We worry about if we have good teachers or not. Most of them are, but that’s your own opinion. Will we have a lot of our friends in our class? Are they going to have the same lunch as us? We get scared that we’ll get lost in the hall ways, or seniors will run us over. We have so many worries because of what we hear about high school, and that sense we’re the youngest in the school we have the worst teachers. It’s not like that at all in fact this year of high school was great, I wouldn’t change it at all. Yeah, this year wasn’t perfect, there was still drama and fights, but once everyone got past all that this year was really fun. Football games were always fun, everyone went to them and had a great time. Pep rallies are interesting, especially when the seniors and juniors try to win the spirit stick. A lot of people try to make high school sound scary and horrible, but it hasn’t been bad at all. I’ve had a great year and can’t wait to see how the rest of high school will be.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

The Interaction of Attractiveness and Style of Cri Essays

The Interaction of Attractiveness and Style of Cri Essays The Interaction of Attractiveness and Style of Crime Carter W. Daniels University of Kentucky Abstract Attractiveness has often been investigated as involving a leniency effect; however, in the context of a con based crime, it becomes the Achilles heel of the perpetrator. Previous research has, for the most part, demonstrated both effects as real and measurable. The present study recreates the con specifically; it is believed that an attractive defendant will receive a harsher sentence than an unattractive one, because a con requires the use of beauty/charm as a weapon. The study utilized psychology undergraduates from the University of Kentucky as participants, because at the time they were seen as representative of the university population at large. Students read a crime summary either accompanied by a picture or no picture at all, which was meant to influence their decision in how long the perpetrator stayed in prison. The results were inconclusive due to many extraneous variables that weren't controlled, thereby resulting in confounds and the inability to reject the null hyp othesis. Limitations are discussed as a foundation for expanded research that would produce conclusive data. The Interaction of Attractiveness and Style of Crime Attractiveness is something that our society hold s to a self-fulfilling standard; that is we often go easier or reward more attractive people because of their physical appearance , however sometimes physical appearances can be a detriment to an individual . There is a lot of research out there that tries to explain this phenomenon and most of it is conflicting because each study tries to measure attractiveness through a myriad of unequal measures. Each study redefines at tractiveness in a different way: a ttractiveness as a set of requirements ( Stewart II, 1985) , facial m aturity (Dumas Teste 2006), and they sometimes look at the relationship of one's self image to perceived beauty ( Darby Jeffers, 1988). Then other times the idea of attractiveness is complicated wit h the type of transgression . The attractiveness-transgression effect allows us to see that attractiveness isn't always the golden standard ( Stewart II, 1985; Schwibbe G. Schwibbe M., 1981; Sigall Ostrove, 1975). A study in 2006 looked at physical beauty as also containing the characteristic of fa cial maturity and researched it s persuasion over juridic decisions when related to offens e congruency and case ambiguity. Dumas and Teste (2006) investigated the "influence of face/offence congruency on such judgments, taking into account the strength of the case against the defendant and the maturity and attractiveness att ributes of the defendant's face " (p. 237 ) . The offense congruency hypothesis proposed stated that those with mature faces would receive harsher prison sentences if the ambiguity of the case was low than those with " baby faces " and low ambiguity. To test their hypothesis a sam ple of forty diverse people were selected to read case summaries accompanied by a questionnaire. Dumas and Teste paired each summary with a photo that was either incongruent or congruent with the case, determined by degree of facial maturity. After performing their analysis , Dumas and Teste concluded that maturity had a more profound effect on the severity of juridical decisions than perceived attractiveness. Physical appearance can also be determined through a list of characteristics; that is to say, one must meet certain criteria to be attractive. In the following research conducted by Stewart II (1985) , attractiveness was defined as having the following four characteristics , "physical attractiveness, neatness, cl eanliness, and quality of dress " (p. 373). Based on these four c haracteristics of appearance Stewart (1985) constructed a field study to test whether or not these components of attractiveness would have persuasion over juridic decisions. In the study eig ht participants went to a court house and observed court cases until sentences were determined . This occurred over a two-yea r period and consisted of sixty cases; ranging from murder, larceny, drug charges and other various felonies. Stewart provided each participant with an "attractiveness index," and filler questions to fill out for each case . After controlling for other influence s such as race, gender, ethnicity, etc ... Stewart found that, "In a series of actual criminal

Monday, October 21, 2019

theater visit essays

theater visit essays On April 4th, I made my way to the music building to see Megan Miskill perform her Junior Music recital. Her concert was shared with a violin player, Trevor Corneliusen, but for this paper, I will only discuss Megans performance. She sang three sets of pieces: Schubert, Faure and Mozart. Each set was contrasting, yet featured her lyric soprano voice beautifully. Nick Williams was her accompanist. The first section of her concert was the Franz Schubert pieces. Schubert, a romantic composer, wrote pieces that focus mainly on nature, love, and unrequited passion. Megan sang Im Fruhling, Die Sterne, and Heimliches Leiben. Im Fruhling and Die Sterne both have a lighter tone color than Heimliches Leiben does. The texture of the first two pieces were lighter and had a sooth melody and softer dynamics. Although they both are melodically and harmonically complex, they still maintained a very positive, happy, feel. Both the first and the second of the Schubert pieces are very cyclical. The form of the first is ABABAA and the form of the second is AAAA. In the second, the melody is exactly the same except for a few accidental notes that were either flat of sharp. The third piece in the Schubert section, Heimliches Leiben, contrasts the first two pieces greatly. It is rhythemically different, starting slowly and then gradually speeding up. The dynamics get louder as the piece gets more passionate. There are bigger, more emotional chords and by the end, the pianist was pounding on the keys. In the second and third verses there is a climax because that is where the most passion is. It is as if the singer has reached a point of complete desperation. It was interesting to hear some more Schubert because we had just studied him in class. One can really get a sense of what romantic composers are like when one looks at the translated lyrics to Schubert's songs. ...

Saturday, October 19, 2019

A Synpsis of The foundation text of English literature, titled Beowulf

A Synpsis of The foundation text of English literature, titled Beowulf The foundation text of English literature, titled Beowulf (meaning â€Å"man wolf† when translated into the modern language), presents readers with a hero named Beowulf who fights three different battles, each with its own monster. Beowulf’s first battle awaits him when he travels to present day Denmark to save the Danes from a monster named Grendel that has been wreaking havoc on King Hrothgar’s men. Grendel’s defeat leads to Beowulf’s second battle with Grendel’s mother, who avenges the death of her son. Once Beowulf saves the Danes from the monsters they faced, Beowulf returns home to rule his land until he meets his death in a battle with a dragon, signifying the monster that overcame him. Although Beowulf’s success in battle with his literal monsters would name him a hero in almost any circumstance, Beowulf’s life and the situations that led him to battle fall into place with the same ideals that name him a classic hero und er Campbell’s hero archetype, where the hero must have a reason for departure, initiation through his defeat of an enemy, and a return from his journey. Beowulf’s journey of life, which was a battle until his death, relates to humans in the sense that although Beowulf’s monsters were real creatures, every individual faces their own version of a monster that phases them, but are conquered in the end. There is always one monster, however, that one can never overcome. Beowulf presents this monster as the dragon in the poem, which ties into every individual as the monster that has never been conquered: the monster of death. Campbell’s hero archetype is also known as the monomyth, or hero’s journey, that sets the framework of the traditional, classical hero. It defines a hero by the steps in the journey that the hero takes, which can be analyzed in three different stages. The first stage of the hero’s journey is his departure, which can be further explained by 5 further categories. The first of this five is â€Å"The Ordinary World,† which explains that the hero must come from an ordinary background, setting the level playing field for all heroes who fulfill Campbell’s criteria. It is important that the hero who fulfills Campbell’s archetype is an ordinary human in order for readers to relate to the story and identify with the hero. Beowulf achieves this criteria as he is known to be a Geat who lived in present-day Sweden as King Hygelac’s thane. He is described as, â€Å"of living strong men he was the strongest, fearless and gallant and great of heartâ €  (132-133), implying that Beowulf was an ordinary man except for his characteristics that set him apart from others. The second category within the departure stage is the â€Å"Call to Adventure,† in which the hero is informed of his need elsewhere. This call foreshadows the change from the character’s then-ordinary life to his journey as a hero. In Beowulf, this criterion is fulfilled when â€Å"[the] tales of the terrible deeds of Grendel reached Hygelac’s thane in his home with the Geats† (130-131), signifying Beowulf’s knowledge of the happenings with the Danes. Following this criteria is the â€Å"Refusal of the Call,† where the hero doubts his confidence with the challenge. This will cause the hero to refuse the call, but then face a shortcoming where he is forced to go on the journey. This, interestingly, is not completely evident in Beowulf, as Beowulf does not refuse the call to begin with. Much of the reason for his decision to travel to the Danes was because of his pride and reputation, putting him in a situation in which he could not refuse. If Beowulf had refused the call, however, he would have been faced with shame as he was described to be the â€Å"strongest, fearless, and gallant† (132-133), compensating for his incentive to travel in the first place. Because of this, the t hird criteria of the departure stage is fulfilled, as it can be seen that had Beowulf refused the call, he would have been pushed into seeking out Grendel anyway. The fourth stage in the departure level of Campbell’s hero archetype is â€Å"Meeting the Mentor,† where the prospective hero seeks guidance regarding the journey that he is about to begin. The mentor acts as a counselor who gives advice, re-instills confidence, or presents the hero with weapons that he will need to fulfill the quest. Although this is not seen in the very beginning as â€Å"counseling,† prior to Beowulf’s departure, â€Å"in the ship’s hold snugly they stowed their trappings, gleaming armor and battle gear† (149-150), meaning that Beowulf received weapons prior to his fight with Grendel, compensating for the lack of guidance he had received. This can also be paralleled by the way that prior to fighting Grendel’s mother, Beowulf was presented with Unferth’s Hrunting in order to kill the mother. This also fulfills the fourth criteria of Beowulf’s departure to become a hero. The fifth and final criteria in f ulfilling a hero’s departure is â€Å"Crossing the Threshold,† where the threshold is the line between the hero’s ordinary world and the alien world that he is about to enter. This is seen in the poem when Beowulf embarks the ship on his journey to the Danes, acting as if it was a journey that he could not go back on. In the poem, this is described as Beowulf â€Å"launched the bessel, the well-braced bark, seaward bound on a joyous journey† (151-152). This symbolizes the threshold that Beowulf crosses to embark on his journey as a hero. The idea of crossing the threshold also occurs when Beowulf jumps into the lake filled with sea creatures on his way to Grendel’s mother’s lair, marking the difference between the land is known and unknown. With the fulfillment of these five criteria, Beowulf embarked on his departure journey for the hero archetype. The second stage to Campbell’s hero archetype following the departure level is initiation, where the hero fulfills a series of tests and trials that will qualify him to fulfill his ultimate goal. This initiation can be more personal, such as maturing or gaining self confidence, or physical trials that the hero must endure. Like the departure level, initiation contains a set of criteria that the hero must meet in order to qualify for Campbell’s archetype. The first one is â€Å"Tests, Allies, and Enemies,† in which the hero faces challenges that test him. These obstacles can take almost any form and exists solely to disrupt the hero’s journey. In Beowulf, one of the obstacles that he immediately faces is Unferth’s challenging of Beowulf’s strength prior to Beowulf’s fight with Grendel. The poem tells this as, â€Å"Then out spoke Unferth, Ecglaf’s son, who sat at the feet of the Scylding lord, picking a quarrel for Beowulf†™s quest† (382-384). In this section, Unferth taunts Beowulf regarding a swimming match they had previously, ultimately challenging Beowulf’s honor. Beowulf overcomes this obstacle by being unfazed by Unferth’s comments and by reinforcing hope within the people in completing the ultimate goal. Following this, the bigger and more obvious challenge facing Beowulf is his fight with Grendel, his enemy. Beowulf fights unarmed and defeats him in the end, fulfilling the first criteria of the initiation journey by overcoming the challenges that he had faced during. Succeeding the tests is â€Å"Approach to the Inmost Cave,† where the hero must cross another threshold into an even greater unknown. Following Grendel’s defeat, Grendel’s mother wreaks more havoc on the Danes in order to avenge her son’s death, calling for Beowulf’s help once again. In order to fight Grendel’s mother, Beowulf first enters a lake that is filled with sea monsters that taunt him, described in the poem as, â€Å"the swimming forms of strange sea-dragons, dim serpent shapes in the watery depths, sea-beasts sunning on headland slopes† (937-939). The setting of this lake can be contrasted to Hell, emphasizing Beowulf’s crossing into the unknown. The measures that Beowulf takes in order to approach Grendel’s mother in the first place adds depth and foreshadows what is to come next, fulfilling the second part of initiation. The third stage of initiation is â€Å"Ordeal,† where the hero must overcome a physical test that will help the world he lives in. The hero often comes close to death and experiences some form of resurrection after overcomin g the dangerous task. In Beowulf, it was the defeat of Grendel’s mother. The significance of this scene in the text is that if Beowulf had not defeated the mother, he would have died and his kinsmen along with the Danes would have not been able to survive. Beowulf’s â€Å"resurrection† occurs when he comes back out of the water guarding the mother’s lair alive, which can be juxtaposed to the idea of floating up out of the water when baptized. The fulfillment of the dangerous task and thus the third stage of initiation immediately leads to the fourth, which is the reward from the task. Beowulf’s reward for slaying Grendel’s mother came in the forms of jewels and treasure from Hrothgar, along with a higher honor and reputation. Immediately following the battle, Beowulf returned with the sword hilt of Hrunting and Grendel’s slain head. With all the criteria fulfilled, Beowulf was ready for return. The final stage of Campbell’s hero journey is return, where the hero returns to where he began as closure of the quest. The first criteria of this stage is â€Å"The Road Back,† which is opposite of the â€Å"Call to Adventure.† Beowulf fulfills this stage by traveling back to his home with the Geats with ships filled with treasure from Hrothgar. Beowulf returns home with validation of his confidence and strength to be presented with the name of a ruler after King Hygelac dies. Following â€Å"The Road Back† is â€Å"Resurrection,† where the hero faces his final encounter with death. The battle in itself is a representation of a larger symbol that plays into the hero’s overall existence. In Beowulf, this is seen as the final battle between Beowulf and the dragon, which wreaks havoc on the Geats after 50 years of peace. Although Beowulf dies as a result of this battle, the dragon itself was supposed to symbolize death, and the true meaning of the battle would not have been fulfilled had Beowulf survived. The battle alone fulfills the â€Å"Resurrection† criteria of the return stage, and Beowulf’s death fulfills the final criteria in Campbell’s hero archetype altogether, which is â€Å"Return with the Elixir.† The Elixir is the lesson of death itself, which can only be fulfilled with Beowulf’s death. The overall lesson of this battle is that the hero’s journey will always and inevitably end with death, and the dragon symbolized the unconquerable monster that every individual will eventually face. Had Beowulf not died, he would not be considered a hero in the first place. Beowulf’s journey to become a traditional hero is non-traditional in the sense that instead of the journey encompassing a quest in which the hero returns to live a â€Å"happily ever after,† Beowulf’s journey was the journey of life itself, beginning with his departure to fight Grendel. He was a hero in the journey of life. This can be recognized as the most significant link between the readers and Beowulf: his story is reflective of the battles that people fight every day. Unlike other heroic stories, Beowulf’s connected with me in regards to his battles, especially with the last one being a symbol of death. As Beowulf himself declares, â€Å"death is not easily escaped from by anyone: all of us with souls, earth-dwellers and children of men, must make our way to a destination already ordained where the body, after the banqueting, sleeps on its deathbed† (1001-1007). The journey of a hero is his journey between life and death, encompassing all of the battles that he had faced to turn him into the character that he becomes when he dies. Beowulf’s journey of the archetypal hero is a representation of individual struggles we face, making humans heroes of our own life. Through Beowulf, we learn that death is the ultimate monster that overcomes us, and the quality of life is determined by the extent to which we live it.

Friday, October 18, 2019

The Fields case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Fields - Case Study Example La Petite Boulangerie (LPB) has 119 store outlets that specialize in selling croissants, breads, and other baked products (Ostrofsky and Cash 9). In 1987, Mrs. Field Cookies acquired the LPB as part of its diversification strategy. Assuming that LPB is a traditional organization in terms of giving more independence to individual stores and managers, this report will carefully examine factors that made the company experience net losses in 1988. As part of going through the main discussion, direct impact of Mrs. Field Cookies’ existing organizational vision, structure, culture, management style, overall business systems will be criticize based on the available academic theories. Right after acquiring LPB, Field’s initial action was to immediately reduce the subsidiary’s administrative staff from 53 down to 3 personnel (i.e. senior manager, operations, and R&D) (Ostrofsky and Cash 9). The main purpose of laying-off LPB’s existing employees was to absorb a list of overhead functions into Mrs. Field Cookies’ existing organization (i.e. accounting, finance, personnel, human resources, training and development). Instead of taking advantage of LPB’s existing employees, Fields were interested only in combining LPB’s existing products with Mrs. Field products aside from using LPB’s existing real estate (Ostrofsky and Cash 10). Considering the size of LPB, Mr. Field thought that owning LPB will help them create investment barrier to market competition. Since Mrs. Field Cookies were able to establish a strong brand in the market, Mr. Field thought that whatever product they add up to the company would easily sell (Ostrofsky and Cash 7, 10). Without taking into consideration of the current economic condition, Mr. Field thought that having a demographically driven growth is the key to their business success. Due to unsuccessful financing experiences in the past, Mr. and Mrs. Fields decided

'The Secret Garden' by Frances Hodgson Burnett, it is frequently said, Essay

'The Secret Garden' by Frances Hodgson Burnett, it is frequently said, shows us the triumph of patriarchy. To what extent is this statement valid - Essay Example Mary is sent to live temporarily at the English clergyman, Crawford's house until she was to travel to her uncle in England. It seems Mary is passed from one patriarch to another in a patriarchal world. Basil Crawford acts like a young patriarch by singing and leading the other children to sing a rhyme to make fun of Mary and bully her. Mary goes to live at her uncle Archibald's Misselthwaite Manor, where the staff relate stories about Archibald's patriarchy. Mrs. Medlock, Archibald's housekeeper, tells Mary that she sacrificed attending her niece's wedding because she wanted to keep her job and 'do at once what Mr. Archibald Craven told her to do. She never dared ask a question.' (Burnett 1994). Mary is introduced to the patriarchal world of Archibald. Martha, the maid, reveals that the secret garden used to be the lovers' paradise that only Mr. and Mrs. Craven were allowed to access.. The secret garden is an enclosed space that symbolises the woman's space that is sharply defined away from the man's space. (Knauss 1987). Archibald appreciated the honor of sharing in it. He understood that it was his wife's sanctuary in her male dominated world of patriarchy. He allowed it when she was alive. After her death, Archibald felt helpless and needed to regain some control. The secret garden is opened with a symbolic key . This key denotes power and understanding. When Mrs. Craven died, Archibald does not understand his grief. He hides the key because he desires to exert his power through his patriarchy, which keeps his staff subdued and powerless. (Russell 2002). Martha's mother, Mrs. Sowerby, understands the need for a lonely female to do some gardening. She predicts correctly that Mary might like to do some gardening of her own. The garden is viewed as a type of female utopia where the female has her own private domain to rule. (Qian Ma 2004). Mary may not understand the psychology behind her action and none of this explanation is necessary in this work as it belongs to 'children's literature. Burnett uses an older or adult character (Martha) to explain the difficult concepts in the story in a simple way. Martha helps Mary to settle into Misselthwaite Manor by making her as comfortable as possible in Archibald's patriarchal household. Even the male gardener, Ben Weatherstaff, exercised his own ai r of patriarchy when he deliberately avoids her. Although Mary has a higher social status than himself, he is not a servant to 'be merely commanded by them (members of his employer's family) to do things'. (Burnett 1994). However, Ben is subject to his employer, Archibald's patriarchy, which rules over his own.Archibald finally consents to see Mary only after Mrs. Susan Sowerby talks to him about it. This is evidence that Archibald is a flexible patriarch who listens to advice. He is kind to Mary and readily gives her permission to do and have what she likes. Archibald does not seem to be a triumphant patriarch who gives orders to his charge. Mary observes that 'he is really a nice man, only his face is so miserable and his forehead is all drawn together.' Mary loves her secret garden. The secret garden with its isolation is a sign of rebellion against the surroundings of patriarchy. (Abalos 2002). She is under the control of her uncle, who exerts secondary control over her by his orders to his servants. Mary complained that she has nothing to do and nothing

Dangers of Obesity Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Dangers of Obesity - Research Paper Example e quality of life and, ultimately, result to death, but because it has become acceptable due to cultural beliefs and practices that promote excessive/unhealthy food and beverage consumption and sedentary lifestyles. Obesity is more than a physical disorder because it is a product of modern life that is geared towards lack of responsibility for one’s health, a healthcare industry that continues to prioritize treatment of illnesses over prevention, social practices of convenience and sedentary living, and an environment that promotes inactivity and unhealthy consumption beliefs and practices. Obesity is a danger to human life because it leads to the development of various illnesses and social and emotional consequences. Obesity is connected to many illnesses. Robert Sturm compared the effects of obesity, overweight, smoking, and problem drinking on health care use and health status using national survey data. He learned that obesity is highly associated with having chronic medical conditions, lower health-related quality of life, and higher health care and medication spending than smoking or problem drinking (Sturm 249). Viren Swami reviews literature on obesity and notes that, according to numerous studies, obesity is a â€Å"risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, adult-onset diabetes, hypertension, endometrial, ovarian, and breast cancer, and gall bladder disease† (3), and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services confirms these risk factors of obesity. Obesity endangers people’s health by leading to both lower duration and quality of life. In ad dition, being obese exposes people to prejudice and discrimination. Rebecca Puhl and Kelly D. Brownell studied discrimination against obese individuals. They learned that discrimination is present in three aspects of society: â€Å"employment, education, and health care† (Puhl and Brownell 788). In particular, some teachers think that being obese is the worst that can happen to people, people are less likely to

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Reseach Paper on Nursing Negligence Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Reseach on Nursing Negligence - Research Paper Example New Jersey has the provisions for different nursing attorneys who are responsible of evaluating the negligence on the part of the nurses, and accordingly take the measures against such negligence. The trial lawyers are experienced in determining the rights of those individuals who suffer owing to the negligence on the part of nursing and thus take the necessary measures (Messa & Associates, 2010). These are reflected through the NJSA Act 45, Section 1-18 and Section 1-25 that clearly explain the roles of the attorneys as well as the penalties against violated acts respectively (New Jersey Uniform Enforcement Act NJSA 45:1.1 et seq., n.d.). The nursing standards represent the benchmark of the duties and responsibilities of the nurses as are desired by particular nursing homes and clinical organizations. These reflect on the understanding, ability, evaluation as well as attitude that are required in competent and successful nursing practice. It is necessary for the nurses to follow the standards that they are expected to since these standards outline the professional expectations from them, as are needed for the satisfaction of the patients (Nursing Standards, 2010). Hence all nurses are required to follow these standards and adhere to the legal system since it is their duty to perform their acts well and avoid cases of lawsuits against negligence. Case Study Discussion: Cases of Failure to Documentation: Case 1: Patient in US admitted with brain infection but positive Homans’ signs being discovered and not documented by the nurse. The patient died without treatment (Special Report: How to Properly Document to Reduce Your Liability Risk, n.d.). Case 2: 23 year old woman admitted with flu but detected with pneumonia. Proper documentation of medication doses, and heart rates were absent. The patient eventually died (Case Study: Medication Administration Error and Failure to Monitor, 2008). Case 3: Oncology patient in New Jersey suffering from uneasiness but nurse ignored documentation and sustained treatment enhancing the suffering (Extravasation Follows Chemotherapy Administration, Potential Complication or Nursing Negligence, 2000). Thus in all the three cases the loss has been caused owing to the documentation failure by the nurses. The damages were filled through penalties depending on the nature of the injury or loss as might have been decided by the legal systems (Factors Affecting Damaging Awards, 2012). Law Regarding the Cases: The US Law: In the first case, the victims were awarded a sum of $500,000 for the damages (Special Report: How to Properly Document to Reduce Your Liability Risk, n.d.). In the second case, the family of the dead sought $3,000,000 for the loss (Case Study: Medication Administration Error and Failure to Monitor, 2008). New Jersey Law: According to New Jersey Uniform Enforcement Act 45, Section 1-18 allows the attorneys to perform all necessary examinations of records and documents in case any violence is reported on the part of the nursing. Section 1-25 declares the amounts of penalties that can be applied, the amounts being a maximum of $10,000 for a single violation, and $20,000 for more than one such act (New Jersey Uniform Enforcement Act NJSA 45:1.1 et seq., n.d.). ANA Code and Provision Violence: Nine provisions of the ANA Code include:

Orgnaization behaviour Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Orgnaization behaviour - Case Study Example There is a relationship between the team needs and motivation. Having various motivators in a team leads to satisfying the needs of each member of the team. Motivators persuade team members to offer their best endeavors in tackling a professional task. It regulates the individual’s internal energy and stimulates him or her in action (Stogdill, 1963). There are a number of reasons why team members require motivators. The first one is recognition. Every member of the team would desire to be appreciated for what he or she has done for an organization. This leads to personal satisfaction since the member feels that there are special privileges and benefits obtained from participation in the team. The second one is power. Motivators such as job promotion provide opportunities to compete for authority and responsibility within as an organization (Stogdill, 1963). Every member in a team has a passion of either being an expeditor or an administrator. These two positions are highly ranked interests because they hold the highest levels of authority and well paid as well. Team members also require motivators for affiliation. They need to feel satisfied and belonging to the team. Our team is made up of five members and they include: Nasser Alsahla, Christopher Coutu, Riley Vary, Abdullrahman sawaf, and Mohammad Alshahrani. Their abilities were analyzed by the birkman method to identify areas where they were least motivated. Two areas with the lowest scores were identified and include planning and administrating. The least motivated individual in planning were Nasser Alsahla and Riley vary both scoring 3 points. On the other hand, in administrating the least motivated were Mohammad Alshahrani, Nasser Alsahla , and Abdullrahman sawaf all scoring 8 points (Stogdill, 1963). The least motivated members of a team fail to succeed in an organization and adversely affect other members in the team. In the area of planning, Nasser

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Dangers of Obesity Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Dangers of Obesity - Research Paper Example e quality of life and, ultimately, result to death, but because it has become acceptable due to cultural beliefs and practices that promote excessive/unhealthy food and beverage consumption and sedentary lifestyles. Obesity is more than a physical disorder because it is a product of modern life that is geared towards lack of responsibility for one’s health, a healthcare industry that continues to prioritize treatment of illnesses over prevention, social practices of convenience and sedentary living, and an environment that promotes inactivity and unhealthy consumption beliefs and practices. Obesity is a danger to human life because it leads to the development of various illnesses and social and emotional consequences. Obesity is connected to many illnesses. Robert Sturm compared the effects of obesity, overweight, smoking, and problem drinking on health care use and health status using national survey data. He learned that obesity is highly associated with having chronic medical conditions, lower health-related quality of life, and higher health care and medication spending than smoking or problem drinking (Sturm 249). Viren Swami reviews literature on obesity and notes that, according to numerous studies, obesity is a â€Å"risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, adult-onset diabetes, hypertension, endometrial, ovarian, and breast cancer, and gall bladder disease† (3), and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services confirms these risk factors of obesity. Obesity endangers people’s health by leading to both lower duration and quality of life. In ad dition, being obese exposes people to prejudice and discrimination. Rebecca Puhl and Kelly D. Brownell studied discrimination against obese individuals. They learned that discrimination is present in three aspects of society: â€Å"employment, education, and health care† (Puhl and Brownell 788). In particular, some teachers think that being obese is the worst that can happen to people, people are less likely to

Orgnaization behaviour Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Orgnaization behaviour - Case Study Example There is a relationship between the team needs and motivation. Having various motivators in a team leads to satisfying the needs of each member of the team. Motivators persuade team members to offer their best endeavors in tackling a professional task. It regulates the individual’s internal energy and stimulates him or her in action (Stogdill, 1963). There are a number of reasons why team members require motivators. The first one is recognition. Every member of the team would desire to be appreciated for what he or she has done for an organization. This leads to personal satisfaction since the member feels that there are special privileges and benefits obtained from participation in the team. The second one is power. Motivators such as job promotion provide opportunities to compete for authority and responsibility within as an organization (Stogdill, 1963). Every member in a team has a passion of either being an expeditor or an administrator. These two positions are highly ranked interests because they hold the highest levels of authority and well paid as well. Team members also require motivators for affiliation. They need to feel satisfied and belonging to the team. Our team is made up of five members and they include: Nasser Alsahla, Christopher Coutu, Riley Vary, Abdullrahman sawaf, and Mohammad Alshahrani. Their abilities were analyzed by the birkman method to identify areas where they were least motivated. Two areas with the lowest scores were identified and include planning and administrating. The least motivated individual in planning were Nasser Alsahla and Riley vary both scoring 3 points. On the other hand, in administrating the least motivated were Mohammad Alshahrani, Nasser Alsahla , and Abdullrahman sawaf all scoring 8 points (Stogdill, 1963). The least motivated members of a team fail to succeed in an organization and adversely affect other members in the team. In the area of planning, Nasser

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Professional Philosophy Essay Example for Free

Professional Philosophy Essay Kellie Boudreaux kab1631 9/12/13 HLTH-214-S4A (Personal Professional Philosophy) Health is a very important lifestyle choice. It is not only physical but also a mental way of thinking. Being healthy can change ones perspective on life in a positive manner. Health helps you achieve balance and tranquility. Health in general can bring a community together and enforce positive behaviors. I believe health educators can mentor individuals to make choices that would enhance their life style. Health Promotion and Wellness stresses prevention techniques and being conscience of ones state of health. It is valued because it directly affects ones daily lifestyle. Health promotion employees may work from schools, any work environment, or within the community to spread health promotion. As a health promotion and wellness major we should be a role model to the community. We are the example and should â€Å"practice what we preach†. Just with any other profession, a cardiovascular doctor would not promote smoking or anything harmful to the body to cause illness. With this major you can work in many environments such as a hospital, school, community center, and businesses. Health promotion is necessary in all aspects of the community. It is important that a community maintains a healthy value to restrict illness and viruses from spreading. You could serve as a personal mentor to someone who is searching for help with their health. Or you could work for a business promoting healthier lifestyles dealing with their work ethnic. Health education can be both formal and informal. Meeting scenario or classroom environments can be a type of formal education. An informal type of education can be just a one-on-one conversation in a relaxed environment. In the profession you are dealing with peoples health, so you need to be ethical and respect peoples privacy. It is your job to understand and respect peoples health history. Everyones health is equally important no matter of race, age, or social background. As a health educator, I need to always remember each person I work with will have a different attitude and out look on life. Supporting ones health is a major key to lead someone to their healthy life. I must always respect ones background and beliefs. If  they are willing to improve their health then that is what matters. It is our job to highlight the importance of ones health. It is not just going to the gym, it is managing stress and mental prosperity. I believe that health is an important aspect of life. Many things involve mental and physical health. I hope to contribute to individuals well-being by providing healthy lifestyle choices. I want to work with the client and also any outside support systems that would contribute to their success. I believe supporting my clients is an important factor in ones goal set for a healthier lifestyle. Health promotion also involves with an on going relationship with your clients. I believe in being committed and connected with all of my clients in all environments I work with. No only being committed, I also want to be a mentor and role model to show my clients what it takes to live a healthy lifestyle. Each individuals have different plans to manage their health according to their belief system and goals they want to achieve. Teaching my clients how to integrate healthy living into their daily lifestyles will be a goal of mine throughout my future career. I can achieve this goal by establish ing personal relationships and creating a personalized health plan for each of my clients.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Polymer formulation

Polymer formulation CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Pigments are additives in a polymer formulation which provide countless possibilities to designers who want to differentiate their product. Legislation and uprising environmental awareness has led to the gradual phasing out of heavy metal inorganic pigments and increased usage of organic pigments. Despite their good heat stability, light fastness, tinctorial strength and low cost, certain organic pigments are widely known to cause significant warpage in polyethylene mouldings (even at pigment concentrations as low as 0.1% wt).[1,2] This phenomenon is especially common in large thin-walled mouldings such as lids, bottle crates and trays.[3] It is generally accepted that the warpage phenomenon is caused by the nucleating effect these organic pigments have on polyethylene. They act as nucleating agents, increasing crystallisation rate and altering the morphology of mouldings. Morphological changes cause higher internal stress which leads to distortion.[2] Adding on to the problem, different organic pigments nucleate polyethylene to different degrees, making it impossible to produce mouldings with identical dimensions using identical processing conditions when a variety of pigments are used.[4] Numerous attempts have already been made, with usually moderate success, to solve organic pigment induced warpage. They range from adjusting process parameters, mould design changes, pre-treatment of pigments, to incorporation of additional additives. A review of literature in this research area showed that although some studies have been conducted to investigate the incorporation of nucleating agents to override nucleating effects of organic pigments on polypropylene, limited information of this sort exists for polyethylene. The specific mechanism behind nucleating agents overriding nucleation by organic pigments is also still unclear. Therefore, it is the aim of this research to study the influence of nucleating agents, based on potassium stearate and carboxylic acid salts, on the crystallisation and warpage behaviour of high density polyethylene containing copper phthalocyanine green pigment. Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and Optical Microscopy (OM) will be employed to follow the crystallisation behaviour of the formulations and correlations between rate of crystallisation and shrinkage behaviour will also be made. CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1. Nucleation and Crystallisation of Semi-Crystalline Polymers 2.1.1. Crystallisation Mechanisms Crystallisation involves the formation of an ordered structure from a disordered phase, such as melt or dilute solution.[5] The crystallization process of polymers is thermodynamically driven. It is governed by change in Gibbs free energy, ΔG.[6] ΔG = ΔH TΔS (2-1) Where ΔH is change in enthalpy, T is absolute temperature and ΔS is change in entropy. When ΔG is negative, crystallisation is thermodynamically favourable. This occurs when loss of enthalpy upon crystallization exceeds the loss of entropy multiplied by absolute temperature. It can therefore be derived that as the absolute temperature of the system falls, the driving force of crystallisation will increase.[7] For a polymer to crystallise, it must conform to the following requirements:[8] Molecular structure must be regular enough to allow crystalline ordering Crystallisation temperature must be below melting point but not close to glass transition temperature Nucleation must occur before crystallisation Crystallisation rate should be sufficiently high A hundred percent crystallinity is not possible in polymers due to factors such as chain entanglements, viscous drag and branching. Thus they are termed ‘semi-crystalline. All semi-crystalline polymers exhibit a unique equilibrium melting temperature above which crystallites melt and below which a molten polymer starts to crystallise. The crystallisation of semi-crystalline polymers is a two-step process consisting crystal nucleation and crystal growth.[6] 2.1.2. Primary Nucleation Primary nucleation can be defined as the formation of short-range ordered polymer aggregations in melt which act as a focal centre around which crystallization can occur.[9] There are three mechanisms of primary nucleation, namely, homogeneous nucleation, heterogeneous nucleation and orientation induced nucleation.[10] 2.1.2.1. Homogeneous Nucleation Homogeneous nucleation involves the spontaneous creation of nucleus in a semi-crystalline polymer melt when it is cooled below its equilibrium melting temperature.[7] This process is termed as sporadic as nuclei are formed in timely succession.[11] Creation of nuclei occurs when statistical variation within a polymer melt results in the formation of ordered assemblies of chain segments larger than a critical size[7]; usually between 2-10nm.[11] Below this critical size, the nuclei are unstable and may be destroyed.[11] Generally, super-cooling to between 50-100Â °C below equilibrium melting temperature is minimally required to achieve true homogeneous nucleation.[12] The super-cooling is attributed to the energy barrier homogeneous nuclei are required to overcome to reach stability.[7]. When molecular segments pack next to each other to form an embryo, there is a change in free energy, ΔG, caused by two opposing mechanisms. The creation of new crystal surface increases free energy (ΔS is negative) while the reduction in volume of the system decreases free energy (Δ(U+pV) ≈ ΔH is negative). The two opposing mechanisms lead to a size-dependent free energy curve which defines critical nucleus size.[13] A small embryo has high surface to volume ratio and so ΔG is positive; in other words, crystal growth is not thermodynamically favourable.[13,14] However as nuclei grow, the surface to volume ratio decreases up to a point where volume change outweighs the creation of new surface and change in free energy decrease; crystal growth becomes increasingly probable. This point is defined as critical nuclei size and above this point, the energy barrier is overcome.[13,14] Eventually when ΔG becomes negative, nuclei are thermodynamically stable, pavi ng the way for further growth into lamellae or spherulites.[14] The minimum number of unit cells required to form a stable nuclei decrease when temperature decrease, due to a reduction in energy barrier. In other words, the rate of homogeneous nucleation increases when temperature of the polymer decreases.[7] 2.1.2.2. Heterogeneous Nucleation In practice, one usually observes heterogeneous nucleation and not homogeneous nucleation.[15] Heterogeneous nucleation involves the formation of nuclei on the surface of foreign bodies present in the molten phase of a semi-crystalline polymer. The foreign bodies can take the form of adventitious impurities such as dust particles or catalyst remnants, nucleating agents added on purpose or crystals of the same material already present in the molten phase (self-seeding).[7,8] The presence of foreign bodies greatly reduces the energy barrier for the formation of stable nuclei. This reason for this is, polymer molecules which solidify against pre-existing surfaces of foreign bodies create less new liquid/solid interface than the same volume of polymer molecules forming a homogeneous nucleus.[6] In turn, critical size of nuclei is smaller in heterogeneous nucleation as compared to homogenous nucleation so that heterogeneous nucleation always occurs at lower supercooling.[16] Foreign bodies with crystallographic spacings matching the semi-crystalline polymer are especially effective heterogeneous nucleating agents. Favorable nucleation sites include crystal grain boundaries, cracks, discontinuities and cavities.[7] 2.1.2.3. Orientation-Induced Nucleation Orientation-induced nucleation is caused by some degree of molecular alignment in the molten phase of a semi-crystalline polymer. Molecular alignment reduces the entropy difference between the molten and crystalline state of the polymer. This kind of nucleation is important in various processes such as fibre melt-spinning, film-forming and injection moulding. In these processes, polymer melt is sheared before and during crystallisation.[8,17] 2.1.3. Crystal Growth 2.1.3.1. Primary Crystallisation Primary crystallisation occurs when melt of a semi-crystalline polymer is cooled below its equilibrium melting temperature. It involves molecular segments depositing onto the growing face of crystallites or nuclei. The resultant crystal growth occurs along the a and b axes, relative to the polymers unit cell. These additions of molecular segments can occur through two mechanisms: tight fold adjacent re-entry or independent deposition (illustrated in Figure 2.3).[6] Tight fold adjacent re-entry requires that chain stems be laid down continuously from a single polymer molecule in a series of hairpin bends until its length is exhausted. This single molecule is thought to be ‘reeled in from surrounding molten material.[7] This mechanism requires that molecular motions along the polymer molecules contour length to be several times faster than the rate of crystal growth. On the other hand, the independent deposition mechanism only requires localized motion of molecular segments. Molecular segments only need to re-organise sufficiently to align with molecular segments at the crystallite face.[6] tight fold adjacent re-entry independent deposition[6] 2.1.3.2. Secondary Crystallisation After a semi-crystalline polymer is cooled to room temperature, crystallisation is still thermodynamically favourable but restricted by the low mobility of molecular segments in its amorphous regions. Over an extended period of time, which can span from hours to weeks, re-arrangement of molecular segments within amorphous regions can lead to further crystal growth. This process is defined as secondary crystallisation. Secondary crystallisation can take two forms; either thickening of pre-existing crystallites by re-organisation of amorphous chain segments adjacent to crystallite surface or creation of new crystallites by re-organisation of amorphous chain segments in interstitial regions between pre-existing crystallites. [6] 2.1.4. Rate of Crystallisation The crystallisation of semi-crystalline polymers is a two-step process and therefore overall crystallisation rate is governed by both nucleation rate and crystal growth rate. Both factors are highly temperature dependent, as illustrated in Figure 2.4. When temperature is just below equilibrium melting point, there exists a meta-stable region where rate of nucleation is low as nuclei that are formed dissolve easily due to high thermal motions.[8] As super-cooling increases, thermodynamic conditions become more favourable and rate of nucleation increases and reaches a maximum near the glass transition temperature. On the other hand, kinetic conditions are less favourable as super-cooling causes viscosity to increase. This results in a shift in maximum rate of crystal growth to higher temperatures where viscosity decrease is balanced by formation of nuclei.[8,18] Overall crystallisation rate at a given temperature is usually expressed as the inverse of time needed for half of the crystals to grow in the polymer (1/ t1/2).[8] When crystallisation occurs under isothermal conditions, its progress can be expressed by the Avrami equation:[8] Xc(t) = 1 exp (-K.tn) (2-2) Where Xc(t) is the fraction of material transformed at time t, n is the Avrami exponent and K is the Avrami rate constant. Equation (2-2) may also be written as:[19] ln ( -ln |1-Xc(t)| ) = n ln (t) + ln K (2-3) So that n and K may be obtained by plotting ln ( -ln |1-Xc(t)| ) against ln (t); n is the slope while ln K is the y-intercept.[19] The value of the Avrami exponent, n, is dependent on mechanism of nucleation and geometry of crystal growth. Theoretical values of n corresponding to different nucleation modes and crystal growth shape are tabulated in Table 2.1.[19] Crystal Growth Shape Nucleation Mode Avrami Exponent (n) Rod Heterogeneous 1 Homogeneous 2 Disc Heterogeneous 2 Homogeneous 3 Sphere Heterogeneous 3 Homogeneous 4 Table 2.1: Relation between n and nucleation mode / crystal growth shape[19] When crystallisation occurs under constant-cooling-rate conditions, its progress can be expressed by the Ozawa equation:[8] Xc(t) = 1 exp (-Ä ¸(t) / Ï•m) (2-4) Where Ä ¸(t) is the Ozawa rate constant, Ï• is the constant cooling rate (- ÃŽ ´T/ÃŽ ´t) and m is the Ozawa exponent. Equation (2-4) may also be written as: ln ( -ln |1-Xc(t)| ) = m ln (t) + ln Ä ¸(t) (2-5) So that m and Ä ¸(t) may be obtained by plotting ln ( -ln |1-Xc(t)| ) against ln (t); m is the slope while ln Ä ¸(t) is the y-intercept. Qiu et al. combined the Avrami and Ozawa equations to make a connection between the Avrami and Ozawa exponents:[20] log Ï• = log F(T) a log t (2-6) Where a = n/m and the kinetic function F(T) = (Ä ¸(t) / K)1/m. At a given degree of crystallinity, a plot of log Ï• against log t will yield a and log F(T) as the slope and y-intercept respectively.[20] 2.2. High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) 2.2.1. Chemical Structure, Crystallisation Rate and Morphology High density polyethylene, HDPE, is a semi-crystalline polymer made up of repeat units (C2H4)n and has a general form as illustrated in Figure 2.5. It consists mainly of unbranched molecules with very few defects to disrupt its linearity or hinder crystalline packing. As such, HDPE has a high rate of crystallisation, degree of crystallinity and density (0.94-0.97 g/cm3).[7] Being a semi-crystalline polymer, HDPE exhibits a three-phase morphology consisting of submicroscopic crystals surrounded by a non-crystalline phase comprising a partially ordered layer adjacent to the crystals and disordered material in the intervening spaces. This is illustrated in Figure 2.6.[7] The unit cell of HDPE, defined as the smallest arrangement of its chain segments that can repeat in three dimensions to form a crystalline matrix, is orthorhombic; a cuboid with each of its axes having different lengths while the angles of adjoining faces are all 90Â °. Each unit cell is made up of two ethylene repeat units; a complete unit from one chain segment and parts of four others from surrounding chain segments.[7] Bank and Krim[21] reported that the a, b and c axes of a polyethylene unit cell are of dimensions 7.417, 4.945 and 2.547Ã… respectively. This is illustrated in Figure 2.7. orthogonal view, view along c-axis[7] HDPE unit cells pack together in a three dimensional array to form small crystals known as crystallites. Most commonly, crystallites of HDPE take the form of ‘lamellae; crystallites with a and b dimensions that are much greater than their c dimensions. Lamellae thicknesses are usually between 50 to 200Ã… while lateral dimensions can range from a few hundred angstroms to several millimetres. Figure 2.8 illustrates a HDPE lamella.[7] Various models have been proposed to explain the arrangement of molecular chains in lamellae. They include adjacent re-entry with tight folds, switchboard, loose loops and a model with combined features (illustrated in Figure 2.9). As molecular length of HDPE is known to be many times greater than lamellae thickness, all models indicate some form of chain folding. However, they differ in their specific nature of folding.[7] d) composite model[7] In HDPE, the most common large scale-structures composed of crystalline and non-crystalline regions are known as ‘spherulites. A spherulite consists of lamellae growing outward radially from a common nucleation site. As this growth advance into amorphous molten polymer, local inhomogeneities in concentrations of crystallisable segments will be encountered. This causes the folded chain fibrils to inevitable twist and branch. As illustrated in Figure 2.10a, a spherulite will resemble a sheaf in its early stage of development. Fanning out of the growing lamellae will subsequently produce a spherical structure but true spherical symmetry is never achieved due to impingement of neighbouring spherulites. This growth of spherulites also involves the segregation of non-crystalline materials into regions between lamellar ribbons. Thus the overall structure of a spherulite consists of twisted and branched lamellae with polymer chains mostly perpendicular to their long axis and amorphous regions (illustrated in Figure 2.10b).[22] 2.3. Organic Pigments 2.3.1. Copper Phthalocyanine Pigments: Copper Phthalocyanine Green Copper phthalocyanines are a class of organic pigments which dominate the sectors of blue and green coloration of polymers. This dominance can be attributed to desirable properties such as high tinctorial strength, bright hues, excellent light and weather fastness excellent heat stability and good chemical resistance.[23] In addition, in spite of its structural complexity, this class of pigments is inexpensive as they are manufactured in high yield from low cost starting materials.[24] The parent compound of copper phthalocyanine pigments is extremely easy to prepare; a phthalic acid derivative is condensed with a source of nitrogen such as urea and a copper salt such as cuprous chloride in the presence of a metal catalyst such as vanadium or molybdenum. This is usually done in organic solvents, at elevated temperatures (approximately 200Â °C) and sometimes under increased pressure. The resultant crude copper phthalocyanine (yields of over 90%) is purified commercially by one of several processes; salt attrition, solvent-free salt attrition, acid pasting and acid swelling.[3,25] Figure 2.11 illustrates the chemical structure of the copper phthalocyanine parent compound. It consists of a tetrabenzoporphyrazine nucleus containing a central copper atom. The planar molecule is in the form of a quadratic shape with length and thickness of 1.3nm and 0.34nm respectively.[27] This parent copper phthalocyanine compound, which is characterised by unsubstituted benzene rings, is used as blue pigment. Copper phthalocyanine blue is polymorphous and exists in five crystal forms. Out of the five, the two of commercial importance are the alpha and beta forms while the other three are distorted ÃŽ ± forms.[27] Different crystal forms bring about a variation in the blue shade. Alpha crystals exhibit a bright-red-shade blue while beta crystals exhibit a green-shade blue.[26] C.I. pigment green 7, b) C.I. pigment green 36 (3y), C.I. pigment green 36 (6y)[28] Copper phthalocyanine green, the pigment of interest in this project, is produced from the copper phthalocyanine blue by replacing the hydrogens on the four benzene rings with halogens. Unlike its blue counterpart, where variation of shade is achieved by modification of crystal form, variation in the green shade is controlled by degree of chlorination or bromination. Copper phthalocyanine green only has one known crystal form.[26] The two types of copper phthalocyanine green pigments are colour index (C.I.) pigment green 7 and colour index (C.I.) pigment green 36. C.I. pigment green 7 is a blue-shade green made by introducing thirteen to fifteen chlorine atoms to replace hydrogens in the benzene ring of the copper phthalocyanine blue molecule (illustrated in Figure 2.12(a)). C.I. pigment green 36 is a yellow-shade green made by gradual replacement of chlorine atoms in C.I. pigment green 7 with bromine atoms. The most brominated C.I. pigment green 36, known as 3y, has an extreme yello w shade (illustrated in Figure 2.12(c)) while the least brominated C.I. pigment green 36, 6y, has a much more bluish shade (illustrated in Figure 2.12(b)).[28] The outstanding tinctorial and fastness properties of both copper phthalocyanine green pigments allow their application under the harshest conditions. They can be used effectively in masstone tints and shades down to the very palest depth. Both green pigments can be processed at temperatures in excess of 260Â °C with little colour change. They have even better chemical and colour stability than copper phthalocyanine blues. On comparison, C.I. pigment green 7 is preferred over C.I. pigment green 36. The latter is weaker and more opaque and accounts for less than 5% of copper phthalocyanine greens used in the polymer industry.[3] 2.3.2. Effect of Copper Phthalocyanine Green and Other Organic Pigments on Properties and Crystallisation Behaviour of Moulded Polyolefins Although the combination of spectacular performance and low cost make copper phthalocyanine green ideal pigments, its use is not without challenges. It is widely known that copper phthalocyanine green and a few other pigments can cause unacceptable levels of shrinkage and warpage in moulded parts of polyolefins.[2,29] The problem persists even at pigment concentrations as low as 0.1% wt.[2] Shrinkage can be described as reduction in moulded part dimensions in reference to mould cavity dimensions.[30] Warpage is a measure of out-of-plane distortion and commonly arises from the relaxation of unbalanced residual stress in a moulded part or unbalanced shrinkage in flow and transverse direction.[30] The early work of Turturro et al.[2] demonstrated that this shrinkage and warpage phenomenon is only limited to organic pigments. It was reported that no distortion occurred in HDPE mouldings containing inorganic pigments such as BBS red (cadmium selenide), 21 M yellow (blend of PbCrO4, PbSO4 and PbMoO4) and 500 L yellow (complex of Ni and Ti). Findings from later studies by Bugnon et al.[31] and Suzuki Mizuguchi[29] are in good agreement. Suzuki Mizuguchi[29] reported similar observations when they incorporated inorganic pigments, TiO2, Fe2O3 and Cd Y into HDPE and PP. Using scanning electron microscopy, Bugnon et al.[31] were able to show that when inorganic pigments such as CdS or CrTiO4 are incorporated into HDPE, there is no interaction between pigment surface and polymer. The polymer essentially builds a cavity around the pigment. On the other hand, an organic pigment of diketo-pyrrolo-pyrrole chemistry was found to blend into the HDPE matrix. This led them to propose that in organic pigments do not induce shrinkage and warpage as their chemical constitutions and polar hydrophilic surfaces have no interactions with polymers and do not influence their crystallisation behaviour. It is generally agreed that the shrinkage and warpage of polyolefins induced by copper phthalocyanine green and other organic pigments is associated with the nucleating effect these compounds have on the polymers.[2,29,31] These compounds provide a foreign surface that reduces the free energy of formation of a new polymer nucleus.[27] Vonk[32] was one of the first few individuals who pointed out that organic pigments can act as nucleating agents for polyethylene. The nucleating effect of organic pigments on polyolefins has since been the focus of intensive studies over the years. The key literature identified from this research area is that produced by Koh[33] for Clariant (Singapore) Pte Ltd. Koh[33] studied the influence of C.I. pigment green 7 and C.I. pigment green 36 on the crystallisation and properties of HDPE. It was reported that the high level of differential shrinkage in HDPE mouldings incorporated with copper phthalocyanine greens was accompanied by increased crystallisat ion rate, increased peak / onset crystallisation temperature and reduced spherulite size. These findings clearly indicate that copper phthalocyanine green can act as a nucleating agent for HDPE. It was also reported that increasing pigment concentration will cause an increase in crystallisation rate and level of differential shrinkage. Kohs[33] findings are in line with those from similar studies carried out by Turturro et al.[2], Suzuki Mizuguchi[29] and Silberman et al.[34] Turturro et al.[2] observed a similar nucleating effect of copper phthalocyanine green on HDPE with the aid of depolarisation and dilatometry techniques. In addition, they found that the Avrami exponent value of HDPE decreases with increasing concentration of copper phthalocyanine green; which indicates a shift in morphology, away from the spherulitic one characteristic of pure polyethylene. They proposed that the strong nucleating effect of copper phthalocyanine green causes only the development of fibrils in HDPE, which subsequently do not organise into spherulites. Interestingly, they also found that pigments do not affect the absolute level of crystallinity in HDPE; implying that these compounds affect only the kinetics and not the thermodynamics of the crystallisation process.[2] Suzuki Mizuguchi[29] and Silberman et al.[34] showed that , apart from HDPE, copper phthalocyanine green can also act as a nucleating agent for PP. Moreover, Silberman et al.[34] found that the addition of copper phthalocyanine green into PP would increase its lamellar size and decrease the activation energy (Uact) of its crystallisation process. The explanation they put forward for these observations was based on the specific chemical structure of the pigment. The symmetry of nitrogen in the copper phthalocyanine green molecule, with an absence of complex structures was thought to promote the dynamic adsorption of PP molecules on the pigment surface and the subsequent crystallisation process. This will lead to the formation of a perfect crystal structure of large lamellar size. Together, the works from all three authors demonstrated that, besides copper phthalocyanine green, organic pigments of anthraquinone, perylene, quinacridone, copper phthalocyanine blue and condense azo chemistries can also act as nucleating agents for polyolefins.[ 2,29,34] At this point, with the aid of various papers, it is established that shrinkage and warpage of polyolefins induced by copper phthalocyanine green and other organic pigments are associated with these pigments serving as nucleating agents for the polymer. However the specific mechanism correlating nucleating effect and shrinkage or warpage has yet to be discussed. Both Turturro et al.[2] and Suzuki Mizuguchi[29] proposed the same explanation for this phenomenon. In a moulding process such as injection moulding, the quench rate is not the same at different parts of the polymer. Polymer melt in contact with mould walls crystallise and ‘freeze very quickly, which results in crystals of low perfection with polymer chains oriented in the direction of flow. This layer of imperfect crystals in turn impedes heat exchange between polymer melt in the core regions and the mould walls. As a result, polymer melt in the core regions cool slowly and give rise to regular crystals. As the surfac e ‘freezes very quickly, contraction in the core regions due to crystallisation will produce stress in the ‘frozen outer layer and cause distortion. In addition, relaxation of oriented regions after removal of polymer from the mould will also cause internal stress and lead to distortion. The presence of a strong nucleating agent such as copper phthalocyanine green will limit the time available for oriented chains to recover during cooling and also increase the thickness of the skin layer. Both factors will lead to more pronounced distortion.[2,29] Apart from altering the shrinkage and warpage behaviour of polyolefins, the nucleating effect of copper phthalocyanine green and other organic pigments is thought to also have a marked influence on the mechanical properties of polyolefins. An investigation of how certain organic pigments affect the mechanical properties of HDPE was undertaken by Lodeiro et al.[1] They found that tested pigments, copper phthalocyanine blue and irgalite yellow do affect the principal mechanical properties of HDPE. In particular, it was observed that the presence of small amounts of phthalocyanine blue in HDPE is sufficient to cause an increase in ductility, reduction in Youngs modulus (up to 10%), reduction in yield stress and increase in failure strain. They attributed these consequences to smaller and more numerous spherulites induced by the pigment; smaller spherulites in larger numbers, each surrounded by amorphous material, results in a polymer that will deform more readily and have lower yield st ress and higher failure strain. 2.4. Nucleating Agents 2.4.1. Heterogeneous Nucleation of Polyethylene: Nucleating Agents Based on Potassium Stearate and Carboxylic Acid Salts Nucleating agents have traditionally been added to semi-crystalline polymers to enhance processing and end product characteristics. The incorporation of these compounds results in shorter cycle time as they increase the crystallization rate of semi-crystalline polymers, ensuring faster solidification from the melt upon cooling. Their addition also results in the formation of smaller spherulites in semi-crystalline polymers. This change in spherulite size improves mechanical properties (such as tensile strength, hardness and modulus) and optical properties (such as haze and transparency).[8,35] Polyethylene, and in particular high density polyethylene, has an extremely fast rate of crystallization, which makes it very hard to nucleate.[8,35] This is probably the reason why little has been published on its nucleating agents. That being said, a handful of nucleating agents have been identified to date. Together, the works of Solti et al. and Ge et al. showed that benzoic acid, talc and Na2CO3 can effectively nucleate polyethylene.[8] Besides the use of particulate or low molecular weight nucleating agents, polyethylene can also be nucleated by epitaxial crystallization on another polymer substrate. Loos et al. was able to demonstrate the melt crystallisation of LLDPE on oriented HDPE.[8] Potassium stearate is another nucleating agent tha