Joy Luck Club Essays - Chinatown, San Francisco, Literature

Joy Luck Club In the novel, The Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tan, it tells of four Chinese women drawn together in San Francisco to play mah jong, and tell stories of the past. These four women and their families all lived in Chinatown and belong to the First Chinese Baptist Church. They were not necessarily religious, but found they could improve their home China. This is how the woo's, the Hsu's, the Jong's and the St Clair's met in 1949. The first member of the Joy Luck Club to die was Suyuan Woo. Her daughter, Jing-mei June Woo, is asked to sit in and take her mother's place at playing mah jong. Memories of the past are shared by the three women left, An-mei Hsu, Lindo Jong and Ying-ying St Clair. June Woo learns of the real secret her mother carried to her grave from her mother's friends. The twin baby girls, her half sisters, Suyuan pushed in a Wheelbarrow as she escaped from the Japanese. Due to sickness, Suyuan can no longer carry her babies, and is forced to leave them on the side of the road. She lives her whole life not knowing if they are alive or dead. In the book, the Woo's left for America to build a better life for themselves. Suyuan Woo wanted to have a daughter like herself, and no one would look down on her. It was important that she speak perfect English and hopefully not share in the same tragedies and sorrows she had known. The movie brought this concept out very vividly. You were able to imagine the time and place and the emotions of the characters. Their anger in the early years, how women and children were treated as possessions. The book spoke of Rose Hsu Jordan, daughter of An-mei Hsu, who had seven brothers and sisters. A very tragic time in her life when her brother Bing drowns at age 1 while she was in charge of watching him. The movie does not touch upon this tragic event and brings out the rich family Rose marries into, and the instant rejection from her boyfriends mother. Rose unhappiness in her marriage with Tod, is similar to the unhappiness her mother had throughout her life. Lindo Jong was a special character in the book , referring to promises she made to her mother as a young girl, and keeping them throughout her life. She was actually abandoned by her family and Lindo was sent to live with her future husband's family. She never complained because she would never dishonor her mother. The movie did an excellent job of showing us the culture during that time in China and how the matchmaker arranged the marriages at an early age. She is a very smart girl and figures out how she could get out of this marriage and still keep her promise to her mother. She puts the blame on the matchmaker and is released from the marriage. When speaking of strong characters in the book, one would have to include Waverl y Jong, daughter of Lindo Jong. She was a bright child who became a famous chess player, which made her mother very proud. The movie brought out her unhappiness in her life and the unhappy relationship with her mother. The two shared similar lives even though they lived in different countries and different times. Ying-ying St Clair, according to the book, was married at an early age and referred to her husband as a bad man. In fact she tried so hard to forget him she forgets his name. She tells of taking her baby before it was born because of the hate she has for her husband. The movie tells the story a little different in reference to her baby. After her husband comes home with his mistress and causes her shame, she drowns her tiny infant while bathing him. A tragic and emotional part in the movie. Lena St Clair, daughter of Lindo St Clair, may not have had such a tragic relationship with her husband as did her mother; but she was unable to find happiness in her marriage. The book and movie were similar in showing us the relationship she had with Harold.

The Personal Computer

The Personal Computer This document contains the history current use and future possibilities of the home PCCONTENTS:Introduction 3IntroductionA home computer was the description of the second generation of desktop computers, entering the market in 1977 and becoming common during the 1980s. They are also members of the class known as personal computers. These computers typically cost much less than business, scientific or engineering-oriented desktop personal computers, and were generally less powerful in terms of memory and expandability. However, a home computer often had better graphics and sound than contemporary business personal computers, and was usually sold for purposes of education, game play, and personal productivity use.The home computer became affordable for the general public due to the mass production of the silicon chip based microprocessor and, as the name indicates, tended to be used in the home rather than in business/industrial settings. In contrast to their predecessors, they were de signed to be used by the average consumer, not necessarily an electronics hobbyist.IBM Portable Personal Computer :: Retrocomputing o...Very typically a home computer would have had a version of the basic programming language in read-only permanent memory. To save the cost of a dedicated monitor, the home computer often would have connected either directly or through an RF modulator to the family TV set as video display and sound system.Personal computers are normally operated by one user at a time to perform such general purpose tasks as word processing, Internet browsing, Internet faxing, e-mail and other digital messaging, multimedia playback, computer game play, computer programming, etc. The user of a modern personal computer may have significant knowledge of the operating environment and application programs, but is not necessarily interested in programming or even able to write programs for the computer. Therefore, most software written primarily for personal computers tends to be designed with simplicity of use, or...

UN Raises Aid Appeal for Pakistani Quake Victims in Race Against Time Essay

UN Raises Aid Appeal for Pakistani Quake Victims in Race Against Time - Essay Example As the paper declares relief agencies are trying to rush shelter and medical treatment to villages in the mountainous region before they are cut off by winter snow within around three weeks. The Red Cross warned in a statement on Wednesday that thousands of the most vulnerable survivors in remote villages could die of exposure if they are left without care or shelter in the freezing cold of the Himalayan foothills. This discussion stresses that the UN has been struggling to fill its current appeal of $312 million for emergency assistance over six months and says that the shortage is slowing the relief effort. Pakistan's Senate chairman, Muhammad Soomro, and minister for economic affairs Hina Rabbani Khar, are expected to outline the extent of destruction of life and property in Pakistan caused by the 7.6 magnitude earthquake. The quake devastated an area of more than 28,000 square kilometers (11,000 square miles), depriving more than 1.1 million people of their jobs and reducing thousands of schools and hospitals to rubble, according to Pakistani officials. Byrs said that the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), which is delivering urgently needed tents for about 3.3 million homeless people in Pakistani Kashmir, and the World Food Program, which provides food rations, were short of funding. Bad weather has been forecast in the region this week, while snowfall is expected to ground most of the 100 or so h elicopters ferrying help to isolated villages in the region by the middle of next month, according to the UN.

Health appetite Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Health appetite - Essay Example ishes to impress teamwork at the workplace must understand the important of teamwork from three varied viewpoints: (1) increased speed of work (2) workload distribution, and (3) faster learning. Team work promotes faster learning. Workers when working as a team tend to learn what they do at a faster rate. The knowledge and experiences of the older team members enables others to grasp new concepts faster. Teamwork also proves to be an added bonus for employees to avoid mistakes at work. It also promotes workload distribution. This way, team members will work effectively when work is distributed. This allows them to focus on one activity till the time that they are sure they have gained expertise in it. Therefore, they do not feel stressed out. Last yet important, teamwork increases speed of work. With many workers working on a single project and accomplishing the assigned task properly, the speed of work is largely increased. The team can therefore, complete a given project as require d and within the appropriate time. In the current globally competitive market, the success of an organization wholly lies in the speed of performance of its employees. A dull, and demotivated team but lacking coordination and speed results in the downfall of the organization. On the other hand, an organization with a well-organized workers often chart out their path to success. The Human resource policies of a company are as such directed. This is for the betterment of an employer and employees as it helps them maximize performance. The aforementioned benefits of teamwork are team specific. However, teamwork is beneficial even at an organizational level. It benefits the organization by increasing the organization’s productivity, which is an important factor in fulfilling commitment and meeting set targets. Also worth mentioning is that teamwork promotes effective utilization of manpower. This is one major reason that makes most organizations to promote teamwork at the

Adult Training in Canada Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Adult Training in Canada - Article Example Standard of living depends on the skills of the labor force. Thus, any nation’s economy depends upon the skills that the labor force possesses. Education and training are lifetime activities related to the working career but it is difficult to evaluate the training decisions based on the business cycle as there are many other factors that influence the training decisions. As labour market conditions improve it becomes essential to train the workforce. Training is influenced by the ‘business cycle’. As business activity increases hiring too has to increase because businesses require more staff. The staff also needs to be trained and hence as employers add staff they also undertake to train the staff. However, the ‘opportunity cost’ in training the staff is higher in a robust economy and this can reduce the incidence of training. However these are counterbalancing influences which make it difficult to relate training to business cycle. A thorough study would entail examining the entire workings of the Canadian economy which is a long-drawn process. The authors decided to restrict their query to evaluate whether the AETS instruments provide a consistent explanation of training incidence and duration for both men and women. Overall education level increased between 1992 and 1998 and more women opted for university degree. Several factors suggest that training too should have increased during this period. Based on the human capital model training should increase. Besides, between 1994 and 1998 business activity and employment rose, and this also is an indicator of rise in training. However, an aging population would imply reduced training levels. Besides, data analysis revealed changes in several factors that influence training levels. As the education level rose, people became more urban. Lifestyle changed resulting in delayed marriages and late children; men keeping out of unionism and preferring to be in employment rather than be self-employed. Men preferred to work for larger but private firms while women preferred the public sector. All these make it difficult to deduce the training duration and incidence based on the economy and business cycles. This gives rise to the query as to what factors influence an individual to undertake training. The authors draw a parallel between the human capital and the physical capital. Just as the stock and quality of physical capital comprising of machinery, equipment and computers can be augmented through investments, human capital too can be upgraded through training activities. Adults may undertake training for various reasons. This could range from a simple desire to upgrade skills after an absence from job market to desire for career advancement. Participation in training can occur at all stages in the life cycle of an individual. Thus, based on these probabilities, this study evaluated the factors that influence training decision. It further describes the incidence o f training activity during the 1990s among adult Canadians who were not part- or full-time students in any education program. The study is based on a core model of human capital accumulation over the life cycle. Various factors that influence training participation and duration were taken as the variables in this study. These include age, job tenure, hours worked and past education level. The control variables included in the study were sex, family circumstances, region of residence and firm size. Data pooled from 1992, 1994 and 1998 Adult Education and Training Surveys (AETS) were statistically analyzed. The AETS survey (1998) was the sixth in the series but for this study only the data from three surveys were compiled. The purpose of AETS was to measure participation rates for learning and training

Application of Transition Metals

Application of Transition Metals The term transition metal (sometimes also called a transition element) has two possible meanings: In the past it referred to any element in the d-block of the periodic table, which includes groups 3 to 12 on the periodic table. All elements in the d-block are metals (In actuality, the f-block is also included in the form of the lanthanide and actinide series). It also states that a transition metal is an element whose atom has an incomplete d sub-shell, or which can give rise to cations with an incomplete d sub-shell. Group 12 elements are not transition metals in this definition. Introduction to application of transition metals: The use of transition metals in the synthesis was taken up slowly by organic chemists. This is at first surprising because the industrial use of transition metals has a much long history hydroformylation using cobalt began in the 1930s. The Mond process using nickel tetra carbonyl was developed in the 19 century. Industry was willing to accept and uses processes that it could not understand black box reactions as long as they were profitable. Academics were handicapped by the desire to understand the chemistry. This was impossible until the ideas about chemical bonding and the necessary instrumentation matured in the years in the Second World War. Even with in this place, the impact of transition metals on the organic synthesis came late possibly because of the many fantastic main group reagents appeared. Application of Transition Metals: The application of transition metals is as follows: 1. Transition metals are applied in the organic reactions. Transition metals complex under goes a series of reactions that are generally unlike those main group compounds. The most fundamental is the simple coordination and dissociation of ligands. Dissociation may also be achieved by destruction of a ligand. This is often done by the oxidation of co and co2 using an amide oxide. 2. Transition metals are applied in the synthesis of metal hydride. M=C=O + OH- ====> M-H + CO2 Here metal carbonyl group reacts with hydroxide to give metal hydride and carbon dioxide. Hydrides such as, sodium borohydride, lithium aluminium hydride, diisobutylaluminium hydride (DIBAL) and super hydride, are commonly used as reducing agents in chemical synthesis. The hydride adds to an electrophilic center, typically unsaturated carbon. Hydrides such as sodium hydride and potassium hydride are used as strong bases in organic synthesis. The hydride reacts with the weak Bronsted acid releasing H2. Hydrides such as calcium hydride are used as desiccants, i.e. drying agents, to remove trace water from organic solvents. The hydride reacts with water forming hydrogen and hydroxide salt. The dry solvent can then be distilled or vac transferred from the solvent pot. Hydrides are of important in storage battery technologies such as Nickel-metal hydride battery. Various metal hydrides have been examined for use as a means of hydrogen storage for fuel cell-powered electric cars and other purposed aspects of a hydrogen economy. Hydride intermediates are key to understanding a variety of homogeneous and heterogeneous catalytic cycles as well as enzymatic activity. Hydroformylation catalysts and hydrogenase both involve hydride intermediates. The energy carrier NADH reacts as a hydride donor or hydride equivalent. 3. Transition metal used in the complexes in fluorescence cell imaging. Transition metal complexes have often been proposed as useful fluorophores for cell imaging due to their attractive photo physical attributes, but until very recently their actual applications have been scarce and largely limited to ruthenium complexes in DNA and oxygen sensing. 4. Transition metal used as Catalysts. Some transition metals are good catalysts. For example: most automobiles have an emissions-control device called a catalytic converter. This device contains a screen of platinum or palladium along with rhodium, a metal. The presence of the transition metals, along with the heat of combustion generated by an automobile engine causes an exhaust coming from an internal combustion engine to be broken down from partially burned hydrocarbon compounds into less harmful compounds such as water vapour and carbon dioxide. Catalytic applications of transition metals in organic synthesis:- OXIDATION REACTIONS: The epoxidation, dihydroxylation and aminohydroxylation reactions of alkenes, especially their asymmetric variants, continue to attract considerable attention. The basic principles were covered in the previous review. The use of fluorous solvents has now been demonstrated formany transition metal catalysed reactions. One advantage that they offer for catalyticepoxidation is the fact that molecularoxygen has a high solubility in fluorous solvents. The combination of O2 with pivalaldehyde and manganese catalysts hasbeen shown to be effective for epoxidation of alkenes in aracemic and enantioselective sense. The fluorous soluble ligand afforded a manganese complex which was insoluble incommon organic solvents, but soluble in the fluorous phase.Indene was converted into indene oxide with high enantioselectivity,although other substrates afforded low selectivity The fluorous phase, containing the active catalyst,could be recycled. Manganese salen complexes have also now been successfullyimmobilised within polymer supports, and still provide high Whilst the enantiomerically pure manganese salen complexes are still often the most enantio selective available for epoxidation of unfunctionalised alkenes, alternative systems are often reported. For example, End and Pfaltz have used rutheniumbis (oxazoline) complexes to provide up to 69% ee in the epoxidation of stilbene. The use of methyltrioxorhenium as a catalyst for epoxidationcontinues to attract attention. Herrmann and co-workershave shown that a combination of methyltrioxorhenium withpyrazole affords a highly efficient catalyst for the epoxidation of alkenes. Styrene was converted cleanly into styrene oxide with this catalytic combination. Reduction reactions The reduction of various functional groups can often be achieved using transition metal catalysts and a suitable reducing agent: often molecular hydrogen, silanes, boranes orhydrides. Amongst all of the possibilities, metal-catalysed hydrogenation has been the most widely studied, especially asan asymmetric process.Some recently reported examples of rhodium-catalyse dasymmetric hydrogenation of alkenes include the conversion ofthe enamide into the derivatised amino alcohols and the regioselective hydrogenation of dienyl acetate into the allyl acetate both using the Me-DuPhos ligand .Reports of new ligands for asymmetric hydrogenation of alkenes continue to appear, often providing highly selective examples.Ruthenium catalysed hydrogenation of alkenes is also popular,and an interesting example has been provided by Bruneau,Dixneuf and co-workers. The achiral substrate is hydrogenatedwith an enantiomerically pure ruthenium complex into compound , which behaves as propionic acid attachedt o a chiral auxiliary. The achiral auxiliary in the substrate is converted into an enantiomerically enriched one prior to a subsequent auxiliary controlled functionalisation. Lewis acid catalysed reactions:- Lewis acids are able to catalyse a wide range of reactions. Theaddition of cyanide to aldehydes is one such reaction and hasbeen studied by many groups. Recently, North, Belokon andco-workers have used a titanium (salen) complex to catalyse the addition of trimethylsilylcyanide to benzaldehyde withlow catalyst loadings. Less work has been reported on theenantioselective addition of cyanide to imines, although it providesa useful route to ÃŽÂ ±-amino acids (Strecker synthesis). However, there have been several reports of the enantio selective variant of this reaction by aluminium catalysts,non-metallic catalysts, and with the zirconium catalysts, reported here. The imine is converted into the ÃŽÂ ±-aminonitrile with good yield and enantio selectivity Scandium triflate is a good catalyst for the allylation of aldehydes with allylsilanes and stannanes. Aggarwal and Vennallhave detailed the allylation of aldehydes followed by in situ acylation.36 Benzaldehyde allylsilane and acetic anhydride undergo coupling to provide the homoallylic acetate withscandium triflate as the catalyst Kobayashi and co-workers have shown that a three component system comprising of benzaldehyde an amine,such as aniline and allylstannane affo rds the homoallylicamine The reaction works more quickly in the presence of sodium dodecylsulfate SDS, which provides amicellar system .The allylation of isolated imines with enantiomerically pure palladium complexes has been achieved with up to 82%enantiomeric excess. Catalytic coupling reactions:- The formation of C-C bonds, as well as C-X bonds can becatalysed by many transition metals, although palladium complexesseem to have a greater scope than other metals. The useof catalytic coupling reactions to provide biaryls has recently been reviewed. 5. REAL LIFE APPLICATIONS: The fact that the transition elements are all metals means that they are lustrous or shiny in appearance, and malleable, meaning that they can be molded into different shapes without breaking. They are excellent conductors of heat and electricity, and tend to form positive ions by losing electrons. Generally speaking, metals are hard, though a few of the transition metals-as well as members of other metal families-are so soft they can be cut with a knife. Like almost all metals, they tend to have fairly high melting points, and extremely high boiling points. Many of the transition metals, particularly those on periods 4, 5, and 6, form useful alloys-mixtures containing more than one metal-with one another, and with other elements. Because of their differences in electron configuration, however, they do not always combine in the same ways, even within an element. Iron, for instance, sometimes releases two electrons in chemical bonding, and at other times three. ABUNDANCE OF THE TRANSITION METALS: Iron is the fourth most abundant element on Earth, accounting for 4.71% of the elemental mass in the planets crust. Titanium ranks 10th, with 0.58%, and manganese 13th, with 0.09%. Several other transition metals are comparatively abundant: even gold is much more abundant than many other elements on the periodic table. However, given the fact that only 18 elements account for 99.51% of Earths crust, the percentages for elements outside of the top 18 tend to very small. In the human body, iron is the 12th most abundant element, constituting 0.004% of the bodys mass. Zinc follows it, at 13th place, accounting for 0.003%. Again, these percentages may not seem particularly high, but in view of the fact that three elements-oxygen, carbon, and hydrogen-account for 93% of human elemental body mass, there is not much room for the other 10 most common elements in the body. Transition metals such as copper are present in trace quantities within the body as well. (industrial effulent) DIVIDING THE TRANSITION METALS INTO GROUPS. There is no easy way to group the transition metals, though certain of these elements are traditionally categorized together. These do not constitute families as such, but they do provide useful ways to break down the otherwise rather daunting 40-element lineup of the transition metals. In two cases, there is at least a relation between group number on the periodic table and the categories loosely assigned to a collection of transition metals. Thus the coinage metals-copper, silver, and gold-all occupy Group 9 on the periodic table. These have traditionally been associated with one another because their resistance to oxidation, combined with their malleability and beauty, has made them useful materials for fashioning coins. Likewise the members of the zinc group-zinc, cadmium, and mercury-occupy Group 10 on the periodic table. These, too, have often been associated as a miniature unit due to common properties. Members of the platinum group-platinum, iridium, osmium, palladium, rhodium, and ruthenium-occupy a rectangle on the table, corresponding to periods 5 and 6, and groups 6 through 8. What actually makes them a group, however, is the fact that they tend to appear together in nature. Iron, nickel, and cobalt, found alongside one another on Period 4, may be grouped together because they are all magnetic to some degree or another. This is far from the only notable characteristic about such metals, but provides a convenient means of further dividing the transition metals into smaller sections. To the left of iron on the periodic table is a rectangle corresponding to periods 4 through 6, groups 4 through 7. These 11 elements-titanium, zirconium, hafnium, vanadium, niobium, tantalum, chromium, molybdenum, tungsten, manganese, and rhenium-are referred to here as alloy metals. This is not a traditional designation, but it is nonetheless useful for describing these metals, most of which form important alloys with iron and other elements. One element was left out of the rectangle described in the preceding paragraph. This is technetium, which apparently does not occur in nature. It is lumped in with a final category, rare and artificial elements. It should be stressed that there is nothing hard and fast about these categories. The alloy metals are not the only ones that form alloys; nickel is used in coins, though it is not called a coinage metal; and platinum could be listed with gold and silver as precious metals. Nonetheless, the categories used here seem to provide the most workable means of approaching the many transition metals. GOLD. Gold almost needs no introduction: virtually everyone knows of its value, and history is full of stories about people who killed or died for this precious metal. Part of its value springs from its rarity in comparison to, say iron: gold is present on Earths crust at a level of about 5 parts per billion (ppb). Yet as noted earlier, it is more abundant than some metals. Furthermore, due to the fact that it is highly unreactive (reactivity refers to the tendency for bonds between atoms or molecules to be made or broken in such a way that materials are transformed), it tends to be easily separated from other elements. This helps to explain the fact that gold may well have been the first element ever discovered. No ancient metallurgist needed a laboratory in which to separate gold; indeed, because it so often keeps to itself, it is called a noble metal-meaning, in this context, set apart. Another characteristic of gold that made it valuable was its great malleability. In fact, gold is the most malleable of all metals: A single troy ounce (31.1 g) can be hammered into a sheet just 0.00025 in (0.00064 cm) thick, covering 68 ft  2  (6.3 m  2  ). Gold is one of the few metals that is not silver, gray, or white, and its beautifully distinctive color caught the eyes of metalsmiths and royalty from the beginning of civilization. Records from India dating back to 5000  B.C.  suggest a familiarity with gold, and jewelry found in Egyptian tombs indicates the use of sophisticated techniques among the goldsmiths of Egypt as early as 2600  B.C.  Likewise the Bible mentions gold in several passages. The Romans called it  aurum  (shining dawn), which explains its chemical symbol, Au. Gold is as popular as ever for jewelry and other decorative objects, of course, but for the most part, it is too soft to have many other commercial purposes. One of the few applications for gold, a good conductor of electricity, is in some electronic components. Also, the radioactive gold-198 isotope is sometimes implanted in tissues as a means of treating forms of cancer. SILVER. Like gold, silver has been a part of human life from earliest history. Usually it is considered less valuable, though some societies have actually placed a higher value on silver because it is harder and more durable than gold. In the seventh century  B.C.  , the Lydian civilization of Asia Minor (now Turkey) created the first coins using silver, and in the sixth century  B.C.  , the Chinese began making silver coins. Succeeding dynasties in China continued to mint these coins, round with square holes in them, until the early twentieth century. The Romans called silver  argentum,  and therefore today its chemical symbol is Ag. Its uses are much more varied than those of gold, both because of its durability and the fact that it is less expensive. Alloyed with copper, which adds strength to it, it makes sterling silver, used in coins, silverware, and jewelry. Silver nitrate compounds are used in silver plating, applied in mirrors and tableware. (Most mirrors today, however, use aluminum.) A large portion of the worlds silver supply is used by photographers for developing pictures. In addition, because it is an excellent conductor of heat and electricity, silver has applications in the electronics industry; however, its expense has led many manufacturers to use copper or aluminum instead. Silver is also present, along with zinc and cadmium, in cadmium batteries. Like gold, though to a much lesser extent, it is still an important jewelry-making component. COPPER. Most people think of pennies as containing copper, but in fact the penny is the only American coin that contains no copper alloys. Because the amount of copper necessary to make a penny today costs more than $0.01, a penny is actually made of zinc with a thin copper coating. Yet copper has long been a commonly used coinage metal, and long before that, humans used it for other purposes. Seven thousand years ago, the peoples of the Tigris-Euphrates river valleys, in what is now Iraq, were mining and using copper, and later civilizations combined copper with zinc to make bronze. Indeed, the history of prehistoric and ancient humans technological development is often divided according to the tools they made, the latter two of which came from transition metals: the Stone Age, the Bronze Age (c. 3300-1200  B.C.  ), and the Iron Age. Copper is also like its two close relatives in that it resists corrosion, and this makes it ideal for plumbing. Its use in making coins resulted from its anti-corrosive qualities, combined with its beauty: like gold, copper has a distinctive color. This aesthetic quality led to the use of copper in decorative applications as well: many old buildings used copper roofs, and the Statue of Liberty is covered in 300 thick copper plates. Why, then, is the famous statue not copper-colored? Because copper does eventually corrode when exposed to air for long periods of time. Over time, it develops a thin layer of black copper oxide, and as the years pass, carbon dioxide in the air leads to the formation of copper carbonate, which imparts a greenish color. The human body is about 0.0004% copper, though as noted, larger quantities of copper can be toxic. Copper is found in foods such as shell-fish, nuts, raisins, and dried beans. Whereas human blood has hemoglobin, a molecule with an iron atom at the center, the blood of lobsters and other large crustaceans contains hemocyanin, in which copper performs a similar function. ZINC. Together with copper, zinc appeared in another alloy that, like bronze, helped define the ancient world: brass. (The latter is mentioned in the Bible, for instance in the Book of Daniel,when King Nebuchadnezzar dreams of a statue containing brass and other substances, symbolizing various empires.) Used at least from the first millennium  B.C.  onward, brass appeared in coins and ornaments throughout Asia Minor. Though it is said that the Chinese purified zinc in about  A.D.  1000, the Swiss alchemist Paracelsus (1493-1541) is usually credited with first describing zinc as a metal. Bluish-white, with a lustrous sheen, zinc is found primarily in the ore sulfide sphalerite. The largest natural deposits of zinc are in Australia and the United States, and after mining, the metal is subjected to a purification and reduction process involving carbon. Zinc is used in galvanized steel, developed in the eighteenth century by Italian physicist Luigi Galvani (1737-1798). CADMIUM. In 1817, German chemist Friedrich Strohmeyer (1776-1835) was working as an inspector of pharmacies for the German state of Hanover. While making his rounds, he discovered that one pharmacy had a sample of zinc carbonate labeled as zinc oxide, and while inspecting the chemical in his laboratory, he discovered something unusual. If indeed it were zinc carbonate, it should turn into zinc oxide when heated, and since both compounds were white, there should be no difference in color. Instead, the mysterious compound turned a yellowish-orange. Strohmeyer continued to analyze the sample, and eventually realized that he had discovered a new element, which he named after the old Greek term for zinc carbonate,  kadmeia.  Indeed, cadmium typically appears in nature along with zinc or zinc compounds. Silvery white and lustrous or shiny, cadmium is soft enough to be cut with a knife, but chemically it behaves much like zinc: hence the idea of a zinc group. MERCURY. One of only two elements-along with bromine-that appears in liquid form at room temperature, mercury is both toxic and highly useful. The Romans called it  hydragyrum  (liquid silver), from whence comes its chemical symbol, Hg. Today, however, it is known by the name of the Romans god Mercury, the nimble and speedy messenger of the gods. Mercury comes primarily from a red ore called cinnabar, and since it often appears in shiny globules that form outcroppings from the cinnabar, it was relatively easy to discover. Several things are distinctive about mercury, including its bright silvery color. But nothing distinguishes it as much as its physical properties-not only its liquidity, but the fact that it rolls rapidly, like the fleet-footed god after which it is named. Its surface tension (the quality that causes it to bead) is six times greater than that of water, and for this reason, mercury never wets the surfaces with which it comes in contact. Mercury, of course, is widely used in thermometers, an application for which it is extremely well-suited. In particular, it expands at a uniform rate when heated, and thus a mercury thermometer (unlike earlier instruments, which used water, wine, or alcohol) can be easily calibrated. (Note that due to the toxicity of the element, mercury thermometers in schools are being replaced by other types of thermometers.) At temperatures close to absolute zero, mercury loses its resistance to the flow of electric current, and therefore it presents a promising area of research with regard to superconductivity. IRON. In its purest form, iron is relatively soft and slightly magnetic, but when hardened, it becomes much more so. As with several of the elements discovered long ago, iron has a chemical symbol (Fe) reflecting an ancient name, the Latin  ferrum.  But long before the Romans ancestors arrived in Italy, the Hittites of Asia Minor were purifying iron ore by heating it with charcoal over a hot flame. The ways in which iron is used are almost too obvious (and too numerous) to mention. If iron and steel suddenly ceased to exist, there could be no skyscrapers, no wide-span bridges, no ocean liners or trains or heavy machinery or automobile frames. Furthermore, alloys of steel with other transition metals, such as tungsten and niobium, possess exceptionally great strength, and find application in everything from hand tools to nuclear reactors. Then, of course, there are magnets and electromagnets, which can only be made of iron and/or one of the other magnetic elements, cobalt and nickel. In the human body, iron is a key part of hemoglobin, the molecule in blood that transports oxygen from the lungs to the cells. If a person fails to get sufficient quantities of iron-present in foods such as red meat and spinach-the result is anemia, characterized by a loss of skin color, weakness, fainting, and heart palpitations. Plants, too, need iron, and without the appropriate amounts are likely to lose their color, weaken, and die. COBALT. Isolated in about 1735 by Swedish chemist Georg Brandt (1694-1768), cobalt was the first metal discovered since prehistoric, or at least ancient, times. The name comes from  Kobald,  German for underground gnome, and this reflects much about the early history of cobalt. In legend, the Kobalden were mischievous sprites who caused trouble for miners, and in real life, ores containing the element that came to be known as cobalt likewise caused trouble to men working in mines. Not only did these ores contain arsenic, which made miners ill, but because cobalt had no apparent value, it only interfered with their work of extracting other minerals. Yet cobalt had been in use by artisans long before Brandts isolated the element. The color of certain cobalt compounds is a brilliant, shocking blue, and this made it popular for the coloring of pottery, glass, and tile. The element, which makes up less than 0.002% of Earths crust, is found today primarily in ores extracted from mines in Canada, Zaire, and Morocco. One of the most important uses of cobalt is in a highly magnetic alloy known as alnico, which also contains iron, nickel, and aluminum. Combined with tungsten and chromium, cobalt makes stellite, a very hard alloy used in drill bits. Cobalt is also applied in jet engines and turbines. NICKEL. Moderately magnetic in its pure form, nickel had an early history much like that of cobalt. English workers mining copper were often dismayed to find a metal that looked like copper, but was not, and they called it Old Nicks copper-meaning that it was a trick played on them by Old Nick, or the devil. The Germans gave it a similar name:  Kupfernickel,  or imp copper. Though nickel was not identified as a separate metal by Swedish mineralogist Axel Fredrik Cronstedt (1722-1765) until the eighteenth century, alloys of copper, silver, and nickel had been used as coins even in ancient Egypt. Today, nickel is applied, not surprisingly, in the American five-cent piece-that is, the nickel-made from an alloy of nickel and copper. Its anti-corrosive nature also provides a number of other applications for nickel: alloyed with steel, for instance, it makes a protective layer for other metals. PLATINUM. First identified by an Italian physician visiting the New World in the mid-sixteenth century, platinum-now recognized as a precious metal-was once considered a nuisance in the same way that nickel and cadmium were. Miners, annoyed with the fact that it got in the way when they were looking for gold, called it  platina,  or little silver. One of the reasons why platinum did not immediately catch the worlds fancy is because it is difficult to extract, and typically appears with the other metals of the platinum group: iridium, osmium, palladium, rhodium, and ruthenium. Only in 1803 did English physician and chemist William Hyde Wollaston (1766-1828) develop a means of extracting platinum, and when he did, he discovered that the metal could be hammered into all kinds of shapes. Platinum proved such a success that it made Wollaston financially independent, and he retired from his medical practice at age 34 to pursue scientific research. Today, platinum is used in everything from thermometers to parts for rocket engines, both of which take advantage of its ability to with stand high temperatures. 6. Application of transition metals complex formation in gas chromatography. we will be discusing applications of superselective liquid phases containing transition metal salts or complexes in gas chromatography Introduction: Metal complexation may be used for four purposes in gas chromatography: to help the separation of certain compounds present in the sample. In this case complexation is performed by using a stationary phase containing a metal; to utilize GC for the calculation of stability constants orother physico-chemical data; to analyse the metals themselves, by making organic volatile complexes and analysing them by GC; to increase sensitivity for inorganic and organic compounds by forming metal complexes and utilize e.g. an electron capture detector which has an increased sensitivity for such compounds. The present review discusses only the first two of these four application fields. The effect of the formation of eleetron-donor-acceptor complexes (EDA) [1-3] of transition metal cations with organic molecules containing n-bond(s) or free electron pairs (hi, O, S, halogens) may be used for the gas chromatographic separation of these molecules. The column packings containing the transition metals may be termed as superselectivepackings, because a slight difference in the structure of the separated compounds (e.g. cis- and transisomers) can give considerable difference in the retention time representing several minutes The reaction of complex formation should be rapid and reversible In the case of a 1:1 complex formation gas chromatography is convenient for the determination the stability constants of the newly formed adducts The formation of n-complexes with cations of the transition metals is particulary widely applied in gas chromatography. The termal stability of these complexes changes i~ a very broad temperature range depending on the metal and the ligand.complexes together with the temperatures of their chromatographic analysis. As seen chromatography permits as to examine the~ systems at temperatures higher than their thermal stability determined by static methods. The superselective packings can be divided into two group~ 1. Superselective liquid phases in which a salt or met~complex is melted or dissolved in a common liquid phase. 2. Superselective adsorbents in which a transition metal exists in various forms such as a salt or other co~pounds coated on the surface of a support, a porous i~ organic salt, a zeolite with the transition metal cation~ an inorganic oxide, or an inorganic or organometall~polymer. Steric Effect Substitution of bulky alkyl groups at a carbon double bond decrease the stability constants of n-complexes. The steric effect depends on the position of substitution in the following order: 2 > 4/> 3 > 5 >~ 6 [9, 78]. The small steric effect of the substituent in position 3 can be explained by considerable participation of electronic effect which, for alkyl groups has the opposite influence on stability constants than the steric effect. Electronic Effect The choice of the substituents at the double bond can increase or decrease the stability of the complex according to their electronic nature. For example, the substitution of D for H at the double bond increases the stability of the 7rcomplexes and for Rh 2* even bulk substituents increase the stability of complexes formed. This was called an inverse steric effect The electron-withdrawing effect of C1 on the electrons an aromatic ring causes a decrease in the stability constant of the n-complex of a transition metal with chlorobenzene as compared to the same complex with ethylbenzene Strain Effect:- Due to the large strain of the cyclobutene ring its ~r-complexes are less stable than those with five- and six-membered cycloolefms The Hg 2+ cation forms very strong complexes with olef~ and aromatic hydrocarbons. This is the reason why it applied for the selective retention of such compounds fr0~ hydrocarbon mixtures The stability constants of Hg ~+ complexes with molecules of organic compounds containing oxygen have been

Confederate :: essays research papers

The issue of the Confederate flag has created one of our countries age long debates. It stems from its presence during the Civil War; where it represented the Confederate states, all of which supported slavery. According to many the Civil war was fought in order to end slavery in the United States, so accordingly, to those the flag represents a past of slavery that they would much rather forget. In opposition to those who feel this way about the Confederate flag, others see it as just a symbol of their Southern heritage whether they are ancestors of slaves, slave owners or sharecroppers; their heritage is the Confederate South. The Confederate Flag should be outlawed and not used as a symbol to represent a state because it has a modern association with white supremacist, presents no positive contribution to those of this country, and those who flaunt the flag have an attitude which is â€Å"backward-looking, rejecting the diversity and dynamism of this country.†(ABC News.com)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The confederate flag should be outlawed because it has a modern association with white supremacist. White supremacist, are not an unorganized throng of individuals rather they are a political group known for being hateful to all those who are different from them, be it by race, religion, or even thought pattern. This group of individuals also feels that they are better than others just because of their skin color. White supremacist have a very narrow minded view on life in general and any symbol that represents them often offends others. The country, which we live in, is based on equality and a symbol of a group that does not believe in equality should not be used as a sign to identify a state. The Confederate flag in essence represents a political party whose overall priority is â€Å"to totally subjugate and dehumanize those different from their selves.†(Newsweek)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Furthermore, the confederate flag presents no positive contribution to those living in this country. Those who fly the confederate flag are often regarded as showing support for racist principles and a hurtful past. Surely all those who fly the flag are not racist or intentionally have a desire to hurt those who they fortuitously offend, but in many cases they are perceived this way. The representation that those who fly the flag take on often does more to cause a problem than it does to unite those of this country.

Preparing A Career Development Plan Essay

1. What are some of the possible reasons Scott did not seek or receive advice from her immediate supervisor? Some of the possible reasons Scott did not seek or receive advice from her immediate supervisor are because of the work relation with them. When you look for help and advice it can be hard at times to go to a person who is your boss and in charge of you. Most of the times the work relationships between a worker and there boss is not as peers but as a leader. It is hard to seek advice from someone who is not viewed as a peer. It makes it easier for her to talk to Elizabeth Burroughs because she is a manager but not in charge of her. Scott therefore has an easier time seeing Burroughs as a peer. Another reason why Scott could have a tough time going to her boss could be because her boss would discourage her from moving on because she is good at her job and her boss wouldn’t want to see her leave. 2. After reviewing the chapter, suggest all possible ways that Scott can prepare her-self for career advancement. Scott can prepare her-self for career advancement by, first identifying career opportunities and requirements. Once that is done she should identify and recognize different career paths. When considering she should think of places with boundaryless career opportunities. This is so she does not get stuck in a position where she can no longer move up and plateau. Other things that she can do to productively prepare herself are, taking career planning workshops, career counseling and mentoring. One of the most important things that she needs to do is network herself to have great support, and connections.

Gun Control in America essays

Gun Control in America essays On April 20, 1999, what is quite possibly the worst school shooting ever to occur in the United States took place at Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado. Around 11:30 in the morning, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold moved from the hallway, to the library, to a science class, to the cafeteria killing students as they went, and then finally ending up in the main office where the killing spree finally ended with both killers taking their own lives. In a period of about fifteen minutes two gunmen who were also students at the school opened fire killing 13 of their peers and wounding 21 more, all with two firearms owned by their parents. After the investigation, it became apparent that these two boys suffered from many things including depression and that they had hoped to take many more lives. But the question remains that if the gun wasnt in their house, would this horror have ever taken place? Is it time stronger gun control legislation? A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. Of course this is none other than the second amendment to the Constitution, spelled out for every single American in the Bill of Rights. For right now, lets focus only on the second half of it : the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. It has been clearly laid out by our founding fathers that every citizen has the inherent right to bear arms to own guns. There is not a single person or organization, including the government, that has the ability to take this Constitutional right away from us. Gun control laws that are being lobbied for would clearly violate this amendment. Stronger gun control legislation would also infringe on recreational sportsman, namely hunters. The point of stronger gun control legislation is to keep guns out of the wro ...

Giles Corey - Salem Witch Trials

Giles Corey - Salem Witch Trials Giles Corey Facts: Known for: pressed to death when he refused to enter a plea in the 1692 Salem witch trials Occupation: farmer Age at time of Salem witch trials: 70s or 80s Dates: about 1611 - September 19, 1692 Also known as: Giles Coree, Giles Cory, Giles Choree Three marriages: Margaret Corey - married in England, mother of his daughtersMary Bright Corey - married 1664, died 1684Martha Corey - married April 27, 1690 to Martha Corey, who had a son named Thomas Giles Corey Before the Salem Witch Trials In 1692, Giles Corey was a successful farmer of Salem Village and a full member of the church. A reference in the county records shows that in 1676, he was arrested and fined for beating a farmhand who died of blood clots associated with the beating. He married Martha in 1690, a woman who also had a questionable past. In 1677, married to Henry Rich with whom she had a son Thomas, Martha gave birth to a mulatto son. For ten years, she lived apart from her husband and son Thomas as she raised this son, Ben. Both Martha Corey and Giles Corey were members of the church by 1692, though their bickering was widely known. Giles Corey and the Salem Witch Trials In March of 1692, Giles Corey insisted on attending one of the examinations at Nathaniel Ingersolls tavern. Martha Corey tried to stop him, and Giles told others about the incident. A few days later, some of the afflicted girls reported that they had seen Marthas specter. At the Sunday worship service on March 20, in the middle of the service at Salem Village Church, Abigail Williams interrupted the visiting minister, Rev. Deodat Lawson, claiming she saw Martha Coreys spirit separate from her body. Martha Corey was arrested and examined the next day. There were so many spectators that the examination was moved to the church building instead. On April 14, Mercy Lewis claimed that Giles Corey had appeared to her as a specter and forced her to sign the devils book. Giles Corey was arrested on April 18 by George Herrick, the same day as Bridget Bishop, Abigail Hobbs, and Mary Warren were arrested. Abigail Hobbs and Mercy Lewis named Corey as a witch during the examination the next day before magistrates Jonathan Corwin and John Hathorne. Before the Court of Oyer and Terminer, on September 9, Giles Corey was accused of witchcraft by Ann Putnam Jr., Mercy Lewis, and Abigail Williams, based on spectral evidence (that his specter or ghost visited them and attacked them). Mercy Lewis accused him of appearing to her (as a specter) on April 14th, beating her and trying to force her to write her name in the devils book. Ann Putnam Jr. testified that a ghost had appeared to her and said that Corey had murdered him. Giles was formally indicted on the charge of witchcraft. Corey refused to enter any plea, innocent or guilty, simply remaining silent. He probably expected that, if tried, he would be found guilty. and that under the law, if he did not plead, he could not be tried. He may have believed that if he were not tried and found guilty, the considerable property he had recently deeded to his sons-in-law would be less in danger To force him to plead, beginning September 17 , Corey was pressed he was forced to lie down, naked, with heavy stones added to a board placed on his body, and he was deprived of most food and water. Over two days, his response to the requests to enter a plea was to call for more weight. Judge Samuel Sewall wrote in his diary that Giles Cory died after two days of this treatment. Judge Jonathan Corwin ordered his burial in an unmarked grave. The legal term used for such pressing torture was peine forte et dure. The practice had been discontinued in British law by 1692, though the judges of the Salem witchcraft trials may not have known that. Because he died without trial, his land was not subject to seizure. Before his death, he signed over his land to two sons-in-law, William Cleaves and Jonathan Moulton. Sheriff George Corwin managed to get Moulton to pay a fine, threatening to take the land if he did not. His wife, Martha Corey, was convicted of witchcraft on September 9, though she had pled innocent, and was hanged on September 22. Because of Coreys previous conviction for beating a man to death, and his and his wifes disagreeable reputations, he might be considered one of the easy targets of the accusers, though they were also full members of the church, a measure of community respect. He might also fall into the category of those who had property that might be in question if he were to be convicted of witchcraft, giving a powerful motivation to accuse him though his refusal to plead made such a motivation futile. After the Trials In 1711, an act of the Massachusetts legislature restored the civil rights of many of the victims, including Giles Corey, and gave compensation to some of their heirs. In 1712, Salem Village church reversed the excommunication of Giles Corey and Rebecca Nurse. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Longfellow put the following words into the mouth of Giles Corey: I will not pleadIf I deny, I am condemned already,In courts where ghosts appear as witnessesAnd swear mens lives away. If I confess,Then I confess a lie, to buy a life,Which is not life, but only death in life. Giles Corey in The Crucible In the fictional work of Arthur Millers The Crucible, the character of Giles Corey was executed for refusing to name a witness. Giles Coreys character in the dramatic work is a fictional character, only loosely based on the real Giles Corey.

Usability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Usability - Essay Example There are many similar websites on the web for example Interseller (2010), but this one seems more organized in terms of its content and layout. There is a very useful option to increase the font size on the website so that older people or weak sighted people face no difficulty. There are few templates available on the website that are equipped with tools and features for enhancing usability. These templates can be downloaded for free and be used as a basis for further development. ‘Search Input Box’ is placed on the website to help the user find the required information on the website instead of browsing through the entire content. Information is grouped in a comprehensive manner for example; all the guidelines can be found in one section while templates can be found in the other. There is a print option that can facilitate the printing of the content on the website. The main aim of the site is communicated at the homepage in a clear and comprehensible manner. The whole website can be shared with someone via email, facebook, twitter etc. The sharing of this website will highlight the importance of usability and make people aware about the measures that have been taken by the government to enforce usability standards. A step-by-step visual map is present on the site to help the web designer understand the design process. There is a blogging area present on this site. It is very informative since it has articles and discussions related to the latest and emerging technologies. People can share their opinions and discuss the most effective measures that can be taken to enhance usability. I found many interesting articles there and aim to follow the discussions regarding my field of interest. It is a very useful site for the web developers and designers since they can follow a comprehensive step-by-step guideline to produce usable websites. Web designers are aware of the

Prep 7 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Prep 7 - Coursework Example The environment has a strong influence when it comes to gene expression. For example, the mixture of genes he inherits and the environment, he interacts with determines the personality of an individual. Various environmental cues can alter the gene expression. They are the extracellular and intracellular concentrations of different ions (Dawkins, 1999). Reaction norms could be used to understand phenotype plasticity in the below manner. Phenotype plasticity shows the degree to which the phenotype of an organism is. The response patterns display the relationship between the genotype and phenotype (Dawkins, 1999). The variability could be structural variations and copy number variations. The difference between broad sense and narrow sense heritability is that the general sense shows the genetic contributions to the phenotype variance of a population and the strict sense does not reflect genetic contributions. Heritability is measured by coming up with the relative contributions of non-genetic and genetic differences to the total phenotypic variation in a population (Dawkins, 1999).The narrow sense heritability and the strength of selection work together in a manner that their response is since they are necessary for selecting (Dawkins,