Identifying Gifted And Talented Children Education Essay

The term gifted and talented is surrounded with a great trade of contention, and is presently under reappraisal by the Coalition Government. A huge sum of research has been undertaken over the last 10 old ages, into the long-run, emotional effects of labelling a kid, and the practician ‘s function in placing a kid and distinguishing the course of study. Directgov ( 2010 ) , presently defines ‘gifted ‘ as one who excels in academic topics such as maths and English, and ‘talented ‘ as those who possess accomplishments in practical countries such as athletics and music. Pound ( 2008 ) , discusses how Gardner ‘s theory revolves about eight intelligences. Gardner believes that each person possesses his or her ain alone combination of intelligences, which he calls ‘multiple intelligences ‘ , which can be enhanced and enriched in an environment which provides stimulating and ambitious activities. Teaching, through Gardner ‘s theory enables the practician to convey out a talented and talented kid ‘s advanced natural endowments, in a ambitious manner. ( Conklin 2007 ) Gardner ‘s ‘multiple intelligence ‘ theory and the Early Years Foundation Stage ( EYFS ) , are reciprocally supportive. Both emphasise individualism and singularity. The DCSF ( 2008 ) , asserts that every country of development is every bit of import, and that no kid should confront favoritism. The DCSF ( 2008 ) besides explains that the early acquisition ends give practicians scope to place and be after for all kids across the developmental continuum. It follows that practicians must place kids ‘s demands and construct on their strengths. Freeman ( 1991 ) advocates that the kid who is every bit ‘bright as a button ‘ , and maintains their enthusiasm for acquisition is more likely to do a positive part to society. The EYFS has been condemned by the Open Eye Campaign ( 2007 ) who claim that it is ‘overly normative and potentially harmful to development, ‘ and that many of its ends are ‘developmentally inappropriate ‘ . In comparing to the EYFS the Key Stage One is more academically biased. The Office for Standards in Education ( Ofsted ) ( 2007 ) , reported that two tierces of Year One instructors did non utilize the information gained from the EYFS to inform pattern and planning. Consequently, many ‘talented ‘ kids may be over looked. Palaiologou ( 2010 ) , discusses Gardner ‘s position that instruction should be less academically driven and his ‘five heads ‘ theory. This focuses on an person ‘s ability to screen utile and relevant information in any given state of affairs, how to believe ‘outside of the box ‘ , and to understand diverseness, citizenship and community relationships in both the immediate and broad environment. He referred to these as ‘modern ‘ twenty-four hours endowments. It is the function of the practician to place and distinguish the course of study to develop talented and gifted persons. Failing to make this could hold a negative impact on the kid. A kid may easy lose involvement and misconduct when presented with unchallenging undertakings. Freeman ( 2009 ) , inquiries how a response category instructor headers with a kid who is working at a higher degree than their equals. She writes that kids should non be left to wait while others ‘catch up ‘ , and believes that this is where ennui begins, this can ensue in a kid withdrawing from larning. Quart ( 2006 ) agrees with this fact and believes that there should be more support available to develop practicians in the appraisal of and learning techniques for gifted and talented students. Freeman ( 2010a ) states that successful and happy kids need consistent. Freeman ‘s research revealed that discovered that kids who were identified as talented and talented in one school would in fac t be below norm in another. Often practitioners erroneously identified a kid as talented and talented. She subsequently states that through analysis of collected information she discovered that labelling kids as gifted and talented makes a negative ‘difference ‘ to their sense of ego, ensuing in low self-pride. Childs who were labelled by parents suffered more emotional jobs than their every bit gifted but unlabeled equals. James ( 2007 ) , draws our attending to the fact that many parents may be commanding and demanding, claiming that the kid becomes fixated with carry throughing parental ends in an effort to understate struggle. He explains that high accomplishment is frequently a effect of over parental pressurisation in childhood that frequently leads to self-criticism and depression in ulterior old ages. Quart ( 2006 ) , supports this position and concludes that parents and pedagogues should forbear from forcing kids to win. She issues a prophylactic warning that the force per unit area placed on the gifted and talented can take to emotional declinations of being deprived of a childhood. For some who were placed on, a ‘pedestal ‘ signifier an early age range maturity and realize they are no longer rather so particular. Freeman ( 2010b ) , leads us to believe that the media is merely interested when things go incorrect, and in fact many gifted and gifted kids go on to take happy ordinary lives. She states that parents should back up and steer kids without forcing them to win and love should be unconditioned and non reliant on accomplishment. To reason, Gardner ‘s theories offer practitioners a theoretical account for supplying a rich and ambitious environment for all kids, including those who are gifted and talented. Practitioners need comprehensive preparation to guarantee that be aftering for larning provides challenges to vouch kids are challenged and stretched, non, bored and pushed. It besides Emotional troubles are more likely to happen when a kid is labelled talented and talented. Therefore, parents and educational practicians should take to guarantee that an identified gifted and talented kid grows into a happy, all-around grownup. More coaction is needed between Foundation and Key Stage One. In fact, it would be good to kids if the EYFS were continued in Year One. Through this research, a greater penetration into the term gifted and talented has been obtained. It offered differing positions on the topic, and the decision reached was that there is really a topographic point in society for the talented and t alented, nevertheless, designation and instruction should be undertaken with attention and sensitiveness. In the words of Benjamin Franklin, Hide non your endowments. They for usage were made. What ‘s a sundial in the shadiness? Franklin ( 1706 – 1790 )

Privatization Study Essay

Privatisation can be defined as ‘the partial or total transfer of property of responsibility from the public sector (government) to the private sector (business) or private persons. Privatization can include the transfer of responsibilities and not solely change of ownership. Privatisation consists of simply ‘the transfer of all or any of three kinds of property rights from the state to the private sector; ownership rights, operating rights and development rights since these constitute the most common type of privatisation. In general privatisation has been undertaken as one of the reform measures to reduce government role in the economy and broaden the role of the private sector. Privatization can also be said to be a process of asset divesture. It is seldom asked, what does privatization seeks to accomplish in the Caribbean? It must be understood that privatization is seen as an instrument working towards supply side improvement by the promotion and allocation of more e fficient resources and short term stabilization through expenditure reduction. Privatization initiatives are now a current occurrence in most Caribbean countries such as Belize, Jamaica, and Trinidad & Guyana to name a few. It has shown that most privatization activities took place in Latin America & the Caribbean; between the period 1988 and 1993 this region accounted for more than half the total privatizations in the Third World. Most privatization initiatives take place in the utility companies of the Caribbean. In case of Belize (electricity, water, port authority and the sugar cane factory). Government in many of these Lesser Developed Countries embraces privatization as an attachment to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. These institutions stress and maintain that privatization is the main driving force towards economic liberalization and self-sustained growth. The objectives of Privatisation can happen either directly or indirectly. The main objective of privatization is placing emphasis on improving the efficiency of government owned/ semi-owned establishments, whether retained or divested. Some objectives are to Improve the operational efficiency of enterprises that are currently owned or semi owned by government, and their contribution to the national economy in terms of reliability of delivery,  quality and price; introduce competition in areas under monopoly; Reduce the burden of semi/owned government enterprises on the Government budget (direct) an example is stated in the re- privatization of Air Jamaica by the Government. (The Government of Jamaica initiated re-privatization process due to the airline’s increasing financial losses and the restructuring needed to face the challenges of new market conditions. The privatization of the airline was a top priority and engaged the International Finance Corporation as its Lead Adv isor)(The KED Group Research); raise revenue opposing to increase taxes on citizens (direct);Expand the private sector’s role in the economy, permitting the Government to concentrate more on its public resources and roles; Encourage wider public population in the ownership and management of business; encourage industrial growth; attract foreign investments Some other objectives can be classifies as secondary objectives such as creating a more market-oriented economy; to gain access to the foreign markets and technology while promoting the development of the capital market; and preserving self-reliance. There are said to be three major areas which privatization is expected to impact. Firstly there’s Efficiency, secondly there’s reduction of financial burden of the government and thirdly the ability to enhance private sector growth and activity to promote economic democracy through the participation of national assets ownership. In the Caribbean, privatization is expected to have a positive impact on productive efficiency. This is a result of the in-efficiencies that have plagued the public enterprises. It is said that as a result of non-competitiveness these enterprises misuse production inputs, they enjoy privileges of subsidiary capital and some social welfare. Shareholders do not scrutinize management performance so there is no incentives to maximize profit and minimize cost. Some problems that leads to privatization of government enterprises being in-efficient are over- staffing, management incompetence and low employee productivity. These are made into undesirable situation due to the intervening of government’s non-economic ends such as non-competitive pricing and employment maximization. When privatized efficiency is expected to yield better management operations. In order to meet the other area of maximizing revenue and reducing the financial burden on government enterprises; Privatization is considered one of the most directive and effective ways whereas government sells public enterprises. Not all asset sales is indeed a reduction in budget deficit, it is a short term measure of correction. It was in the early 1980’s in the Caribbean that revealed most countries found it difficult to provide counterpart funding for projects. Due to governments commitment to provide funding for these projects resulted in the economy to fluctuate and cause a burden on government resources. The growth of the expenditure exceeded the growth of revenue resulting in some countries to privatize. Privatization stimulates private sector growth. It seems to be beneficial as the private sector is constantly evolving. Privatization also sparks development of entrepreneurship by promoting economic democracy by participation of ownership of national assets. This can be seen in Belize with the telecommunication provider BTL. This company was bought and shares were sold to the public, giving them some ownership in the company. In the Caribbean, public enterprises were established because the pr ivate sector fell short to supply and demand because they weren’t willing to take the risk of high investment. Privatization of these public assets took place to attract foreign investment, government had to remove the restrictions of market access and the protection of state owned enterprises so that private investors would have been encourage to invest and avoid monopoly. This increased the foreign investment in the Caribbean. In Belize a similar situation of taking a risk and some monopoly to an extent can be seen in the privatization of the water company. CASCAL the foreign investor had problems when government had already invested in the utility company but was said to have not express the overvaluing of the company which yielded a more long term debt. Nevertheless CASCAL invested over $70 million USD into the company. Privatization of an enterprise or government own entity can be done in many ways. Some organizations use not only one method both sometimes several means for privatization. These methods of privatization are adopted based on the objectives of the enterprise such as financial position or the structure of the market. Some forms or methods of privatization can be stated as Sale of Equity, Sale of Assets, Concession/ Lease Agreement, Management Contracts, Franchising. In Belize the most common form is Sales of Equity and Sale of Assets. Sale of Equity refers to the transfer of equity usually done by the selling of shares. The government usually decides on what percentage to keep and what to sell. Once government decides on the  issue, the form of public offering or private placement of these shares can take place. Usually in large financially sound enterprises the public offering method is more attractive to government. The Belize Telecommunication privation is a great example of how g overnment took the public offering method and offered the Belizean public to buy shares into the company. Belize Telecommunication Ltd was the first privatization in Belize 1989 when British Telecom bought 25% of the shares. In 2001 Carlisle Holdings committed and increase BTL shareholdings to 52% with a $50 million investment. In 2004 Carlisle Holdings sold its shares back to the Government, which then resulted in the government to sell its shares plus the shares acquired from Carlisle to Innovative Communication Cooperation. Innovative communication Cooperation couldn’t pay for its share in 2005 which caused the government to take back 52% majority shares and sold it to private entities. In 2007 all rights and assets were transferred to Belize Telemedia Limited and the Government became the owner of majority of shares, the remaining shares were offered to the public which builds up 908 small shareholders. This is one company that basically use the sale of equity method. When using method of sales of assets, the basic concept is the direct sale of a public enterprise’s assets to a private investor or a group of investors. This would occur in a very competitive manner where government would try to receive the best price through an auction or tender process. Belize’s only sugar cane processing facility Belize Sugar Industries Limited was under negotiations for privatization due to BSI running into financial problems following allegations of mismanagement and bad investments in an allied electrical generation project BELCOGEN Ltd. The government first attempted to promote the sale of BSI to Honduras’ Banco Atlà ¡ntida but this failed. A purchase offer was made by the Belize cane farmers, who is the major suppliers of the factory’s sugar cane, was not entertained with much interest by the government. The sale was offered to the U.S. Company American Sugar Refin ery. This privatization was solely the sale of asset; no shares were offered to public and the factory is solely managed by a foreign company but still retains the employees being Belizeans. American Sugar Refinery, assuming the entire debt of BSI, will become the beneficiary of additional shares issued by BSI so that at the end of the day there will be something like 78 to 22 per cent ownership. ASR will in fact hold the  majority shares and the other 22% representing the actual workers of BSI. This act of privatization in Belize was a direct result, as BSI was in debt of 30 million and couldn’t repay. The government was forced to privatize at the same time act in best interest for the 90% of cane farmers that is the driving force for the sugar industry in Belize. There are other methods such as contracting/ franchising. This mostly happens when the government cannot take on the responsibility in services such as road construction and maintenance, machinery repair garbage collection (Belize Waste Control) and health services (such as Belize Dry Cleaners contract to heat wash all hospitals bedding etc.) this relinquishes all duties and services from the public sector to the private sector. This was also evident in The Jamaican privatisation programme which began in the early 1980s with the divestment of public services; which were burdening on fiscal resources of the government. These services were garbage collection services, parks and markets, and public cleansing. There is also the management contract method which solely involves hiring private sector to manage government enterpr ises for a special fee. This method entails the management responsibility only and does not involve the transfer of personnel. The final method is concessions and lease agreement; this method is used when government does not want to transfer complete ownership of an entity. Privatization of enterprises would be mostly natural resources or infrastructural. While government retains ownership, the private operator is responsible for desired improvement and management. Private investors may have an option to purchase the company after the agreements end. Privatization in the Caribbean countries was said to be influenced by the deteriorating financial state of the countries except for Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago which privatized their enterprises to undergo a structural adjustment program with the International lending Institutions. As in example with Grenada and Dominica which privatized for their own structural reform to reverse the deteriorating financial state. In Grenada their reform was organized by the Caribbean Development bank and aim was to privatised state owned enterprises to reduce the arrears of debts and contributions and focus on fiscal reform. In Dominica privatization was through the public sector enterprise reform that was based on the privatization of the Dominica electricity Services. In Jamaica privatization came into act in the 1980’s when the government at  that time, wanted to reduce their role in the economy. On board with privatization efforts were the International Monetary Fund and The World bank which disbursed several loans to the government of Jamaica divestment agenda. Some divestments included cleaning public facilities, operations of public markets which was done through the lease agreement and management contract method which gave private entities control. Privatizati on took flight in 1985 when shares offering was done by the National Commercial Bank acquiring 51 percent of the government’s equity. Privatization in a whole is said to have both positive and negative impacts depending on the way it is carried out and for the purpose the governments seems deemed. Advantages or potential benefits of Privatisation are that it improves efficiency. Private companies have a profit incentive to cut costs and be more efficient. When working for an industry that is managed or run by government, managers do not usually share profits. However, a private firm is interested in making profit and so it is more likely to cut costs and be efficient. A simple example of this is the British Airways have shown degrees of improved efficiency and higher profitability. Privatization also allows for the lack of political interference. It is said that most governments are motivated by political pressures rather than sound economic and business sense. They may employ too many workers which is inefficient and might be government may be reluctant to get rid of the workers because of the negative publicity involved in job losses. Therefore, state owned enterprises often employ too many workers increasing inefficiency. There may be instances when it’s beneficial for government when there just thinking in terms of until the next election. This is called the short term view. Government may be unwilling to invest in infrastr ucture improvements which will benefit the firm in the long term because they are more concerned about projects that give a benefit before the election. Shareholders apply pressure to private entities if they are inefficient. These companies could be threatened by a takeover. Another beneficial aspect is increased competition; privatisation of state owned monopolies allow more firms to enter the industry and increase the competitiveness of the market. One of the major competitions in the Caribbean would be telecommunication. In Belize, the Belize Telecommunication Limited was under monopoly which gave rise to a new competitor namely Speednet (SMART). However, privatisation doesn’t  necessarily increase competition, it depends on the nature of the market. The last advantage is that government will raise revenue from the sale. This could be seen in the water and sewerage authority in Trinidad & Tobago, the flour mills, the steel company and assets of PETROTRIN which raised over $542.4 million USD for the Trinidadian Government in 1999. Also in Trinidad the British West Indian Airline under privatization had a profit of 2.04 million USD as compared to the previous loss of 25.6 million USD. In Jamaica about 50% of public enterprises has gained overall benefits of privatization. According to the National Investment Bank of Jamaica from since the privatization process from 1981, the government proceeds have been over $300 million USD. Privatization also increased the employment in the agricultural field, hotels which have increased by 85% due to aggressive market strategies and telecommunications as a result job losses were le ssened. Also public cleaning and garbage collection has improved. (Stone 1992). This also shown that by 150% employment was increased. In Guyana, the privatization of the Telephone & Telegraph Company Ltd. Has increased the number of subscribers from 21,000 to 53,600 and have improved services and quality. (Tyndall 1995) Privatization may also have its disadvantages which can mostly occur when there is a monopoly in an industrial firm. It is better to have a public monopoly rather than a private monopoly which can exploit the consumer. Some disadvantages are when privatization happens for public interest. Many industries which perform an important public service such as health care, education and public transport is not profit driven. In these industries, the profit motive shouldn’t be the primary objective of firms and the industry. In the case of health care, it is feared privatising health care would mean a greater priority is given to profit rather than patient care. The Problem of regulating private monopolies, such as the water companies and rail companies (as in Jamaica) is another disadvantage of privatization. Regulation is needed to prevent abuse of monopoly power. Therefore, the government still need to have regulatory power or state ownership. As in the advantage of short term view when government is looking only towards the next election and trying to minimize public investment; the private entity can swing this around and do the same. This would be called short termism of firms which would be also a disadvantage. Private owned entities would or may seek to increas e short term profits to shareholders  and avoid long term investment. In privatization of a company it’s not always in the best favour of the public citizens. In some case privatization of a utility company have caused price increase in the service they provide. It is always hard for government to reacquire these companies after privatization. A typical example in Belize of a privatization went wrong was under the PUP government. They privatized the Port of Belize to a so call crony of the party. This was clearly not in best interest of the people or country. Under government ownership the port was serving Belize as well as Southern Mexico. Today not even Belizeans are fund of using the port due to the lower prices and services offered by neighbouring ports as Honduras and Guatemala. Privatization was been around in the Caribbean from the early 1980’s and has gain over ten years solid experience and now evolving as the learning process continues. What is clear is that government has been more interested in the economy rather than letting the private sector take over. Is has shown that through studies in Jamaica and proper consultation, privatization has caused a very beneficial change in the country. A consensus must be must be initiated with the society at large for any privatization program to be successful or beneficial. Privatization has its pros and cons and any government in the Caribbean should consider if privatization is the best option, not just for political gain; but for the benefit of its people. Although sometimes some countries are driven or force into privatization to help the rescue them from the ir financial burdens, there must be a privatization structure and team in place so as to have the government not selling out and causing its people to suffer. With the proper assessment and consulting privatization can be a way forward for developing Caribbean countries. REFERENCES siteresources.worldbank.org richardbernal.net/Privatization_in_the_English-Speaking_Caribbean dbankjm.com/privatisation pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNABL654 ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/cgi/viewcontent. economictimes.indiatimes.com westernbelizehappenings.blogspot.com https://www.kcl.ac.uk/sspp/departments/geography www.guardian.bz/index www.belizetelemedia.net www.internationallawoffice.com/newsletters www.caricom.org/jsp/community/donor_conference†¦/preferences.pdf

War for the greater good

Through a course of history war has been a fact of life as we know it. It has caused destruction, and cost many lives. So how is it the greater good? For some, it's the resources that are used in the result of victory or â€Å"victor goes the spoils† others my say. From diamonds to oil, resources have been one of the main reasons for war. Other people may see war a way out or freedom, such as slaves Joining the army to fght in the war in exchange of being given their freedom. The cost of freedom impacted the slave trade of the 17th century causing massive numbers of recruits in earch of independent lively hood.Political power has also played a part in war, for advantages in geographical location and in search of collaboration to strength forces. The romans use this strategy throughout ancient history as they conquered many lands and use the losing army as a part of their own war. The effects toward pride also consider a greater good. One of the greatest wars in 1800's where th e U. S. embraced Great Britain in combat during the Treaty of Ghent on February 17, 181 5 where the beginning of national pride that struck the nation. Others may disagree of the phrase â€Å"greater good† as it may be looked as an insult o them.The men and women of the armed forces who have paid a strong price by trading in their families, lively hood, and their lives for mere combat. The Walter Reed National Military Medical Center has treated hundreds and thousands of soldiers measuring from minor to grave injuries. Many of those injuries in result of amputations, a fatal pay out for the so-called greater good. Many times the question had been asked; was it worth it? The women and children from the other side of war have suffered greatly as well. In the ancient times some of these women and children where either killed, rape or put into slavery.If young boys showed promise, they would train the young futures soldiers conquering army standards. Religions have shown great re ason for wars as holy grounds where fought upon for centuries. Even until this day religion views throughout the world have been the powder keg as turmoil ignited the spark. Some extremist believe they are chosen for a purpose and the ones against them are to perish by their higher power. In the war of Bosnia & Herzegovina, war crimes where commit but where look upon as blessings among some priest. The non-believers where also slaughtered as the lack of faith conflict ith the views of religion.Whether its religion, resources, or freedom, war will always play a part of life. We as a society will make this possible as greed and corruption lurk in minds of the tyrant leaders and dictators. We must realize survival serves its purpose to those who are willing take and conquer. We also have war within ourselves. Inner demons we must battle to maintain peace. Until then, the truth on whether the greater good of war as sufficient will only main a mystery. We must also be responsible to have a balance of in our lives and free our minds of hate. Well balanced sanity is the key to peace.While we may think the world issues as a heavy load, trying solved them through war may create problems in the long run. In conclusion that's everyone must make commitments tor the better ways ot lite in order to coexist. No excuses for radical groups who project images of inconsideration. In order to succeed in as a peace world, one should make sure they carefully cherish and value freedom and use your time deflect conflict. One of the most important aspects of personal responsibility is increasing your self-awareness nd knowing what stands in the way of for success with negativity.

Creative exercise Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Creative exercise - Essay Example river’s behavior, he might have had his reasons to behave the way he did as a way of carefully responding to such a situation but then again if it made you feel uncomfortable please accept our apologies. We will talk to him to know exactly why he behaved so and hope that it won’t happen again. Thank you for contacting us. 3. Surge pricing occurs when there are extreme demands that are generated by special events, holidays or peak times. During such times, we are subjected to multiple fares so as to maximize the number of Uber cars on the system just to make sure our customers get a car when they need one. Please note that you were not charged unfairly but on such occasions our customers should expect their fares to be subjected to a surge multiplier. Sorry for any of any cause inconvenience to you, but we hope that u have understood. Thank you. Reason for the order response is that we have to respond first with the frustrated customer and calm him down. Then to our customer whose flight is at 6 A.M to ensure that he does not miss his flight if at all he finds it convenient to use our service. Then the physical damage just to ensure that the driver’s personal insurance policy will be able to cover him. If it does not, we at Uber have a policy that covers such drivers up to $ 50,000 and with a $ 1,000 deductible. Then I respond to the customer who wants a refund as he/she doesnt seem angry all he wants is a refund which will not take long to do. And lastly option b since we are certain that the customer will get his jacket back provided he is certain that he left it in one of our cars 1.Kindly confirm your email address on file if it is correct by logging into uber.com then click the ‘settings’ link at the top of the page. This should help, or you could also check your spam folder. Thank you. 1. We do not allow that due to security purpose and privacy options. If your friends wish to drive your car on the Uber system, then they have to be on your

MA INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

MA INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS - Essay Example It focuses on studies of conditions pre and post 2003 war. This study will focus on human rights violations and its impact on the international relations of Iraq with various countries. International Relations which has developed as a branch of Political Science and it studies foreign affairs of states and relations among states within the international system. In the present scenario the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations (IGOs), non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and multinational corporations (MNCs) have become very important to determine the International Relations among states. These cover various issues of politics, economics, security and peace and human rights. To formulate any foreign policy all these issues are being analysed and concerned. The diverse range of issues covered in International Relations studies range from globalisation to cultural studies, cross cultural impacts, ecology, nuclear issues terrorism and human security to human rights. One of the approaches of international relations is Inter-statist approach where in State is divided into two separate domains of internatl and external(international) domains. International norms along with human rights comes under the External domain. Understanding of international domain depands in agreeing on various issues and rules. Human rights in Iraq have been one of the concerns of international communities from the past. Human rights have been reported to be violated reign of Saddam Hussein and even after Gulf war in 1991. In Saddam’s period Government had repressed anyone who opposed or questioned any decision. Government had control over major industries and oil production. The human rights violations included Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life, disappearance of people after military occupations, Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Arbitrary Arrest,

STRUCTURAL ASSESSMENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

STRUCTURAL ASSESSMENT - Essay Example This phase is important for the structural stability and to ensure the safe design implementation and this inspection will also affect the life of the structure because mistakes made at this stage can be corrected on spot but after the facility is complete then the retrofitting would be very difficult and expensive. Then the second phase is the post construction inspection which is done after some time that is 6 months, 1 year and 5 years normally the frequency of the inspection decides its extent, mostly the inspection made after 5 years is far more extensive and detailed than that of which is done after 6 months. This inspection is mostly done by visual monitoring of the facility by professional which inspect the vital areas that are vulnerable to failures and crack propagation. Both the inspection types are extensively vast and hence require a lot of discussion where as at the moment I will only focus on the Post Construction inspection. The key requirements of the inspection woul d be consisting of many aspects the first among them is property identification information which include the location and type of infrastructure facility. Then a detailed study and preliminary visual inspection of various structural systems employed in the building/structure and applicable non-structural components is done. Further progress in the assessment and its requirement includes critical analysis existing condition of the various structural systems, including foundations, bearing walls, framing, columns and beams, floor systems, roof systems, and their connection and construction details. During the assessment and inspection procedures one fact is also to be considered that the Engineers and/or construction specialists conducting the structural assessment should be knowledgeable of the construction methods, materials, load capacities, and design details of the infrastructure facility or structure type being analyzed, as modern structural design approaches will likely not be directly applicable due to the fact that these structures were made quite a long time before and employed primitive construction standards and design methodologies. William Hover (2008).In addition to requirements discuss above there are other as well and which are equally important, significant among these is analysis of the deficiencies, damage, and failures to determine/identify their evident, probable, or possible causes and after these are been highlighted then it is the responsibility that recommendations for corrective measures, design solutions for stabilization and/or repair and maintenance must be made. Then at the end a cost estimate must be made of the repair works and the cost engineering under different scenario must be made which include the recommendation of new construction or choices of retrofitting and localized repairs. Maintenance Management System Then comes the Maintenance Management System(MMS) for a large infrastructure organization, although the system is very extensive and encompasses many fields but the key focus in this discussion would be on infrastructure organizations and their requirements. MMS is a computerized database system which is made to maximize and increase the efficiency of deferred maintenance and capital improvement activities through the organization and its services using standardized procedures to document and prioritize field facility and equipment needs and to

Auditing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Auditing - Essay Example The employee had been steeling for years and covering her tracks by dividing the amount into very small amounts in the various accounts. Risks are more prevalent at the end of the year when there is a incase of an unusual transactions, when the companies performance is declining for no apparent reason, frequent change in business councillors and auditors, where there is a complex corporate structure and inadequate balancing of financial accounts. Audit risks include inherent risks, control risks and analytical procedure risks. Inherent risk is associated with auditor's assessment of material misstatement, it is associated with wrong information given on financial status of the various accounts. Accounts with low inherent risks include fixed assets accounts which are easy to observe and securities traded in the stock market whose price level is easily observed. Control risks are the risk that which misstatement is not easily observed and cannot be prevented or detected. The internal control system cannot detect these frauds. The assessment of control risks detects the effectiveness of the internal control to prevent and detect such misstatement. Analytical procedure risks is the risk associated with the auditor, it is a measure of the willingness of an auditor to accept the misstatement of financial statements. This risk will cause unqualified opinions on the current status of a company. The auditor can lower these risks by making sure that financial statements are not materially misstated. Both the inherent and the control risks are referred to as the risk of material misstatement. (http://www.aicpa.org/pubs/jofa/sep2000/prac_aud.htm) The analysis of Railway PLC Financial statements. According to the audited financial statements of Railway PLC the risks can be analyzed as follows: The profit and loss account for Railway PLC has two parts, the Railway and the River financial statements. This combination is not appropriate and the two sectors should be analyzed separately. In my previous discussion on the possible of the occurrence of frauds and errors, when an organization has a complex corporate structure then the risks of fraud are high. Therefore the two should be analyzed separately to reduce the occurrence of frauds and to determine their individual contribution to profits. The direct costs, depreciation and other expenses in the profit and loss account should be split into individual expenses so as to enable proper auditing in detection of any frauds. These accounts individual accounts should also be audited. Direct costs should contain fuel expenses and other accounts associated with cost of providing services. Depreciation should also be analyzed according to individual assets and this accounts forwarded for auditing. Another risk factor is the indication of revenues and expenses in thousand pounds. Each single cent should be accounted for and this is evident in the above case where an employee committed frauds through the division of a large sum of money

Describe and evaluate the accounts of depressive realism that can be Essay

Describe and evaluate the accounts of depressive realism that can be derived from associative and rule-based theories of learning and memory - Essay Example Associative theories of learning and memory maintain that a psychological process is involved in conditioning. Very much a behavioral account (similar to classical conditioning) and causal in nature, associative theories submit that people forge judgments based on their experience of the pairing of two stimuli and based on the strength of these associations. The delta rule can be used to explain this account of contingency and causality judgment. The cue precedes the second event, the outcome, in a consistent manner and if the outcome is consistently regular, associations are formed between cue and outcome so that the two become synthesized together. It is necessary, Price and Yates believe (1995), that the cue precedes the outcome for associative learning to be achieved, although others opine that, regardless of whether cue does or does not precede outcome, it is sufficient for participants to believe it as causal to the outcome for judgment to ensue. Models such as the expectancy-v alue model (Fishbein, 1963) and the association model (Bowers, 1986) are examples of associative accounts. The expectancy-value model argues that attitudes are a total sum of evaluative beliefs towards attitude objects, whilst Bower’s association model, although taking a cognitive stance, maintains that cognition and affect are linked through evaluative memory-based mental nodes that, via spreading activation, instigate perception. The stronger, or more intense the experience, the more instinctive and pronounced the bias. Rule-based theories on the other hand maintain that people arrive at contingency judgments by a sort of mental schema that encodes the events, categorizes them, and employs some mental logic to arrive at inferences and deductions. This it does by summing the frequency of events, and by employing a heuristic, referred to by Price and Yates (1995) as â€Å"blocking†, where perceivers

Short Stories Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Short Stories - Essay Example Louise Mallard is portrayed as a delicate individual as a result of her heart condition who seems to be in a happy marriage with her husband. Her ability to accept the bad news concerning her husband’s death and her need to be alone in order to deal with it shows that she is not only a strong woman, but also one who prefers her independence. The thoughts that she has about her husband are based on their good times that they had together and the love that he openly showed her. Her memories of these events lead her to sob over his death because she realizes that her life is never going to be the same. As she is weeping for her husband, Louise looks at the sky and sees it covered with clouds that have patches of blue showing through. The clouds symbolize the grief through which she is undergoing and the patches of blue in the sky are used to show the hope that she will be able to move on and come to enjoy her life than she had before. However, Louise also starts thinking of the potential freedom that she is going to have as a result of her husband’s death. She comes to realize that she no longer has to live according to the whims of her husband but in her own terms; a realization that allows her to het over her grief swiftly. Louise comes to have hope in her life and this is through her belief that because she is still young, she has a long time in which to live the way she wants. This belief in her new found freedom is a reflection of her possibly having been in a marriage that did not make her happy even though her husband loved her. This is exemplified through the statement â€Å"And yet she had loved him—sometimes†, one that shows that she might not have married for love but out of convenience. This story ends up being ironical because despite Louise’s expectation to live the rest of her life in her new found freedom, she is not able to accomplish her dreams. This is because in her husband ends up being alive and well and when she sees

The human nature Essay Example for Free

The human nature Essay How much is human frustration worth? Is it worth losing a chance to buy a present for the girl you like? Or is it worth participating in a lottery which is nothing more but a silly tragic fatal ritual? I was asking these questions while reading James Joyces Araby and Shirley Jacksons The Lottery. For me, both stories represent the ultimate point of human despair: at this point, the person is no longer able to control his (her) life and surrenders under the pressure of overwhelming circumstances. I think that frustration is the central element of both stories; it touches the depth of the readers soul and turns into disruptive revelation about the perversity and hideousness of the human nature. Human strength and endurance has no limits; human evil and self-interest are unlimited, too. James Joyces Araby shows human frustration in its powerlessness in the face of insuperable circumstances. Every morning I lay on the floor in the front parlour watching her door. [†¦] When she came out on the doorstep my heart leaped (Joyce 62). The whole life of the anonymous narrator is filled with joy of seeing the young lady walking in front of him, and passing her before their ways diverge. He lives his life from morning to morning, when he will see Magans sister again. This is the life full of waiting; this is the life full of expectation, anxiety, dreaming and almost physical attraction. The same is the life of villagers whom Jackson describes in her The Lottery. It is the life full of expectation mixed with the feeling of threat, fear, and imminence of the coming end: Bobby Martin already stuffed his pockets full of stones, and the other boys soon followed his example, selecting the smoothest and roundest stones (Jackson 10). As the young boy cannot wait to visit the bazaar I could not call my wandering thoughts together. I had hardly any patience with the serious work of life which, now that it stood between me and my desire, seemed to me childs play (Joyce 63), the villagers cannot wait to hear when the new victim of the annual ritual will be declared: guess we better get started, get this over with, sos we can go back to work (Jackson 13). The deeper Joyce goes into the young boys soul, the larger is the prairie between his promise to visit the Araby bazaar and the realization of his inability to fulfill the promise: Nearly all stalls were closed and the greater part of the hall was in darkness (Joyce 65). How bright and shockingly sincere Joyces revelation could be, Jacksons story has gone far beyond Joyces reasonable limits. Jackson has gone even deeper to the moment of unexpectedness which emphasized the unlimited nature of human mercenary character. In the light of Jacksons The Lottery, Araby produces an impression of the boy’s relatively mild reconciliation with the surrounding opportunities and circumstances. Moreover, I feel that Joyce still leaves some hope that everything will change: ultimately, there will be another bazaar and another girl, although the young boy does not yet understand it. On the contrary, Jackson uses unexpectedness to emphasize how far human coldness, rationality, and perversity can go; the author shows, how easily humans turn into beasts when they pursue material interests, leaving no hope to escape the lottery’s trap. Jackson shows how human desire to kill turns into a usual feeling, when it becomes regular for and acceptable by other community members: the whole lottery took less than two hours, so it could begin at ten oclock in the morning and still be through in time to allow the villagers to get home for noon dinner (Jackson 10). Conclusion Both stories end up in frustration; for Joyces character, frustration is reflected in the hollow sound of two pennies that fall against the sixpence in my pocket (Joyce 66). A creature driven and derided by vanity (Joyce 66) is the end result of Joyces striving towards recognition and love. For Tessie Hutchinson, frustration becomes real as she holds the slip of paper that has a black spot on it, the black spot Mr. Summers had made the night before with the heavy pencil in the coal company office (Jackson 17). Later, this frustration turns into the feeling of inevitability of tragedy, when a stone hit her on the side of the head (Jackson 17). In both stories, frustration is the shocking reflection of the human hideousness, cruelty, and indifference which leave no chance for spiritual and physical resurrection. Works Cited Jackson, S. â€Å"The Lottery†. 10-17. Joyce, J. â€Å"Araby.† 61-6.

Developing a Socially Stratified Society

Developing a Socially Stratified Society Reconstructing the society There are many categories in which we sort humans. Among the major categories we have race, class and gender. Race is a social concept that categorizes humans into large populations and groups that stand distinctively by cultural, anatomical, genetic, geographical and social affiliation. There is not yet an agreement on the best definition of class, but it can be defined as people belonging to the same same social, economic and educational status. Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining between masculinity and feminity, and also differentiating them. Alternatively, it pertains to socially constructed roles, behaviours and also attributes that a society considers right for both the male and the female gender. We can incorporate the films â€Å"La Haine† and â€Å"manufacturing consent† to illustrate this. In La Haine, we can illustrate the impression of class as a category in which we sort the human race. This is clear when there ensue a hard-hitting drama between the police and the disenfranchised French youth. The relationship that can be examined between these two groups is riotous because of the social class. There is a riot that took place after a second generation Arab was beaten by the cops. The following day, young men went to Paris and they were arrested by the police. They were interrogated, only to be involved in a rumble with skinheads later on. On their returning home, what they encountered was never suspected. Delving deeper into the film La Haine, we find the writer director Mathieu Kassovitz butting the European urbanity with the American style of the streets as clash with the police in suburban parts. The end result can be seen as an explosion scathing social commentary and generally the story-telling is dynamic. Closer scrutiny to the generaton; class and race are the major factors that divide the nation of France. Kassovits attacks the frontlines of power fearlessly but on a rather unreservedly pessimistic note. A riot in seen in the outskirts of paris where the police beat Abdel Ahmed Ghili, an Arab teenager, into a coma. This fuelled a lot of anger and hatred inside Vincent cassel, who is commonly reffered to as Vinz. Vinz was a Jew who was determined to whack the cops in the occasion the boy dies. The jocular admitted this to the cohorts of Vincent. He also approached Humbert, an African boxer, to speak to him of his rather evil plan as they embark on an adventurous voyage from the neighbourhood of immigrants. The time bomb ticks a fatal account of the society’s decline which is plainly one sided. The efforts of only one police who shows sympathy to the troubled youth are negligible and ineffective among an army of bullies and bigots. It can be seen that kassovits view situations in black-and-white which vividly explains the reason for striking a monochrome print. It is the conviction and broad discovery with which he writes the story that makes it really compelling. He lifts up a scene straight from the taxi driver where Vincent Cassel poses infront of the mirror with a gun. He asks his own image if it is talking to him. Humbert is seen to offset him with a cool self assurance. Taghmaoui performance was outstanding when he offers funny relief to neutralize the unbearable tension. He prompted a hitherto, unseen and executed it brilliantly. Racism has been seen to be a particular problem in the police force. The tense relationship between the policemen and the youth evidences racism. It takes place during a 24 hour period. When Abdul is injured and is critically in hospital, in the course of retribution, Vinz is caught in the possession of a policeman’s gun he had obtained in the riot. He swore to murder a â€Å"pig† if Abdul dies. This illustrates how race is a major class of sorting the humans We can construct a socially stratified reality that will help us save some of these racial, class and gender related problems. The most basic elements of the social structure is status. It stands for a social position that is recognized and of which an individual occupies in the society. There are duties and responsibilities usually in relation to complimentary positions. Secondly, we have the status set. Everyone in the society holds many status positions and not one. Status set can be defined as all the statuses that a person holds at a given time. One can be a male or a female, teacher or student, husband or wife among many others. When we talk of status, it can either be ascribed or achieved status. Ascribed status is achieved at birth or later assumed involuntarily in the course of life. Achieved status is a social position that is assumed voluntarily. Its can reflect the personal ability that one has or the magnitude of efforts with which he puts. Oftenly, we have a combination of both the achieved status and the ascribed status. However, there’s that status with an exceptional importance for social identity and that shapes a person’s personal life. This is referred to as a master status and according to our society, one’s occupation often comprises this position. According to the social diversity, physical disability becomes the master status for many people. Some other ascribed statuses like race or sex are other examples of positions which in one way or the other are a person’s master statuses. In the construction of a socially stratified reality, the concept of role is significant. By role, we mean the expected behavior that is attached to particular status. The expectations the society attaches to a role somewhat makes the role performance to differ. Since each status has several roles attached to it, a person has many roles than statuses. This number of roles attached to particular status is referred to as role set. An individual can creatively shape reality through social interaction. It is understood as a negotiation process which generates to shaping reality. People also build reality from the surrounding culture that varies widely within a given society. Analysis of social interaction in terms of theatrical performances is crucial. Individuals in various settings make attempts to create impressions in the minds of others, what is referred to as impression management. There are various reasons why discrimination arises and how it is perpetuated. Compounding effect of multiple grounds are always linked to a person’s experience of definition. For example, researches confirm that the elderly and persons with disabilities experience higher unemployment chances. Members of radicalized groups with such qualities may also be underemployed on multiple grounds. These are social harms and pains that come from such acts of discrimination. Another reason for discrimination is protecting persons associated with others protected by the code. The code could protect people who are not personally identified by one of the grounds. The big question arises on whether one is a member of a protected group. There should be considerable intent behind how u treat someone instead of analysis based on looks, myths and stereotypes. This is discrimination based on perceived grounds. Age could also be another reason for discrimination on may social area including employment. Younger job applicants may be discriminated on the grounds of stereotypes about youth and experience. Older employees may be discriminated on the grounds of health related and disability concerns. They should eliminate discrimination and instead base thneir decisions on the basis of actual merits, capacities and circumstances. Others are discriminated on the basis of underage and considered to as minors. Some are discriminated whenever employers state the maximum and minimum age. Disability is another major point of concern. This has been claimed by a quarter of all human rights. Employers are concerned with disability related concerns, and to prevent these claims and issues in a timely way, they opt to discriminate which should not be the case. They should instead apply measures such as inclusive design and develop accommodation issues. Family status is another major reason for discrimination. A person’s marital status has also become a major concern. To take care of this, policies and actions should not be based on social areas. Some stereotypes that a man or a woman is of a greater value than other types of marital status should be dropped. There is also race and race related grounds of discrimination. Language itself is not a ground for discrimination but it may be associated with any of the race related grounds. The same case applies to color. Ancestry and place of origin are also major causes of discrimination. Citizenship, sex, and record of offences, sex, gender identity and sexual orientation are also major causes of discrimination. However, discrimination may be stopped. These include setting the standards without placing blame. One should bring awareness on what is acceptable and what should be dropped. Whenever one experiences discrimination, it is good to challenge the behavior immediately. Sometimes it is good to address the challenge even if it means later in future. In the process of eliminating discrimination, it is important to know your audience your evidence and understand them. This makes it easier to drive a convincing argument and know what points you need to change. It is good to take your time and work out the best strategy in which you can address discrimination. You can also seek the advice of other in order to come up with the best strategy. One can also seek the help of others including a lawyer to know your rights. Discrimination has hazardous consequences. Some of the physical consequences associated with discrimination include change of appetite, decreased energy, stress related ailments, insomnia, headaches among others. It also has emotional impacts such as anger, depression, fear, feeling of isolation, self blame and guilt. Career and academic impact include absenteesm, decreased concentration, and reduced productivity whenever one fall victim. The grades or employment records suffer because of this. The vice of discrimination also has social impacts such as alcohol and drug abuse. It leads to physical and emotional withdrawal from friends and family. Financial impacts include decrease in professional reputation or academic standing, decrease in future job opportunities, actual loss of jobs, scholarships and recommendations. The organization may also suffer costs of discrimination such litigation, higher employee turnover, tarnished public image, frustration and loosing sides. In conclusion, impression management is very fundamental in our daily life. Talking of impression management we mean the process with which people attempt to influence perceptions of other people, object or even designs. It may extent to professional or even public relations. There are three types of intangible consequences that are associated with discrimination. These include fines, litigation costs and also bad publicity. Litigation expenses are associate dwith employment discrimination claims. These includes the attorney fees and investigative expenses. There are sums of costs associated with litigation. They include punitive damages and compensatory damages. Lost income and revenue is a tangible, though difficult to measure, cause of discrimination. When the media covers such issues there may be a considerable drop in sales hence lost incomes and revenues. There are no socially responsible customers that will want to be associated with supporting businesses that have been involved with scandals of social discrimination practices. Organizations use impressions such as branding as strategies to convey the brand image to external and internal audiences. Mangers have no option other than build the impressions they make on others, be it subordinates and business partners. The imperession they create is the overall effect on their understanding All in all, these are just but ways in which we create a socially stratified reality, or rather category driven realities. Works cited David M. Newman, Sociology, chapter 12, â€Å"The Architecture of Inequality: Sex and Gender.† Kate Bornstein â€Å"Gender Outlaw vintage books New York, 1995† David M. Newman, sociology, Chapter 14 â€Å"Architects of change: Reconstructing Society† David M. Newman, sociology, Chapter 10 â€Å"The Architecture of Stratification: Social Class and Inequality†

Properties of Topological Insulating Material: Bi2Te3-PANI

Properties of Topological Insulating Material: Bi2Te3-PANI Synthesis, Characterization and Electrical properties of a Composite of Topological Insulating Material: Bi2Te3-PANI R. R. Urkudea[*], P. T. Patilb, S. B. Kondawarb, U. A. Palikundwara[† ] aX-ray Research Laboratory, Department of Physics, Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University, Nagpur 440033, India bPolymer Nanotech Laboratory, Department of Physics, Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University, Nagpur 440033, India Abstract In the present work, we carried out a systematic study of structure, UV-Vis Spectra and surface conductivity of pure Bi2Te3, pure Polyaniline (PANI) and Bi2Te3 (5%)-PANI (95%) composite. Bi2Te3 was synthesized by a method similar to solvothermal method, whereas, pure PANI and Bi2Te3-PANI composite were synthesized by a chemical oxidative method. The materials were structurally characterized and the electrical properties were investigated in the temperature range from room temperature to 100 °C. The electrical conductivity of the Bi2Te3-PANI composite is found to be higher than that of its pure constituents at all the temperatures. The enhancement in the surface conductivity may be due to the PANI generated ordered molecular arrangement of Bi2Te3 in the Bi2Te3-PANI composite, as confirmed from powder x-ray diffraction, UV–vis spectral analysis.  © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Peer-review under responsibility of the International Conference on Nanomaterials and Technologies (CNT 2014). Keywords: Topological insulators; Bismuth telluride; thermoelectric material; Polyaniline composites; electrical conductivity. 1. Introduction Topological insulators (TIs) are electronic materials that have a bulk band gap like an ordinary insulator but have protected conducting states on their edge or surface (Hasan and Kane, 2010). Most of the current researches are focused on the materials, like Bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3), Antimony telluride (Sb2Te3) and Bismuth selenide (Bi2Se3) due to the topological insulating properties exhibited by them. Bi2Te3 is one of the best TI materials. It is a semiconducting compound with narrow bulk band gap of 0.2 eV. It is also a good material for thermoelectric applications (Das and Soundararajan, 1988). It has shown a drastic change in its thermoelectric properties when it is doped with Polyaniline (PANI) (Li et al., 2011). It has also given added advantages of polymers like inexpensiveness, intrinsically low thermal conductivity, flexibility and good processability etc. (Marjanovic et al., 2013). Various research workers have attempted to synthesize and characterize composites of Bi2Te3 with polyaniline (Zhao et al., 2002; Xu et al., 2005; Hostler et al., 2006; Chatterjee et al., 2009; Toshima et al., 2011). Very recently, mechanical blending method was employed by Li et al. (2011) for the synthesis of Bi2Te3–PANI; they found that the power factor of the composite is less than both of the individual components. However, a report on the synthesis of a Bi2Te3 and PANI hybrid by physical mixing and solution mixing showed a higher power factor in the case of the physical mixture (Toshima et al., 2011). Though there is a vast literature available on the TE properties of Bi2Te3-PANI composites, experimental reports on TI Properties of the composites are not available. Based on this background, in the present work, we carried out a systematic study of structure, UV-Vis Spectra and surface conductivity of Bi2Te3 (5%)-PANI (95%) composite, pure Bi2Te3 and pure PANI. Bi2Te3 was synthesized by a method similar to solvothermal method (Deng et al., 2002), whereas, pure PANI and Bi2Te3-PANI composite were synthesized by a chemical oxidative method (Stejskal and Gilbert, 2002). The materials were structurally characterized and the electrical properties were investigated in the temperature range from room temperature to 100 °C. The electrical conductivity of the Bi2Te3-PANI composite is found to be higher than that of its pure constituents at all the temperatures. The enhancement in the surface conductivity may be due to the construction of highly ordered chain structures of PANI on Bi2Te3, as confirmed from powder x-ray diffraction (XRD), UV–vis spectral analysis. 2. Experimental details 2.1 Materials used Bismuth chloride (BiCl3), Tellurium (Te) metal powder, Potassium hydroxide (KOH), Sodium borohydrate (NaBH4), N-N dimethylformamide (DMF), Hydrochloric acid (HCl), Aniline (C6H5NH2), Acetone [(CH3)2.CO], Methanol (CH3OH) were purchased from Merck Chemicals. Ammonium persulphate [(NH4)2S2O8] was purchased from Hi-media. All the chemicals were of analytical reagent grade and are used without further purification, except aniline which was purified prior to use. 2.2 Preparation of Bi2Te3 A mixture of BiCl3 (10 mmol), Te powder (15 mmol), KOH (80 mmol) and NaBH4 (30 mmol) were put into a beaker of 100 ml capacity. The beaker was then filled with N-N dimethylformamide (DMF) up to 90 ml and was kept into a muffle furnace. Temperature of the furnace was maintained at 100-180 °C for 24 hours and was then slowly cooled to the room temperature. The product was filtered, washed with double distilled water and dried in vacuum oven at 80 °C for 12 hours. 2.3 Preparation of pure PANI and Bi2Te3 PANI Composite PANI was synthesized by using chemical oxidative method (Stejskal and Gilbert, 2002) 0.2 mol Aniline with 0.25 mol Ammonium persulphate was oxidized in acidic aqueous medium. Aniline and Ammonium persulphate were dissolved, separately, in 50 ml solution of 1.0 mol HCl in double distilled water. Both the solutions were kept at room temperature for 1h and were mixed together in a beaker. During the process, the colour of the solution changed from colourless to light blue and then to dark green. The solution was briefly stirred and was left to polymerize for 24 h. The precipitate of PANI was collected on a filter paper, washed with distilled water, then with 20 ml of 0.1M HCl and with Methanol. PANI (emeraldine salt) powder was dried in vacuum oven at 80 °C. A similar procedure was followed for the synthesis of Bi2Te3-PANI composite, but this time Bi2Te3 was introduced in aniline solution. 3. Characterization 3.1 Structural characterization The samples were structurally characterized by XRD and UV–vis spectral analyses. XRD measurements were performed using a Diffractometer (Rigaku Miniflex II x-ray Diffractometer) with Cu KÃŽ ± radiation (ÃŽ » = 1.541838 A °). The UV–vis spectra of the prepared samples were recorded by a spectrophotometer (UV-1800 Shimatzu Spectrophotometer) using samples dissolved in dimethyl formamide in a quartz cuvette. 3.2 Electrical characterization All the prepared samples were pressed at pressure less than 5 tonnes, at room temperature, to form the compacted pellets for measurement of the electrical conductivity. The measurements were carried out, in the temperature range 20-100  °C, by standard four-probe method with constant current source kept at 2 mA. 4. Results and Discussions 4.1 Powder X-ray diffraction Figure 1 shows the XRD patterns of Bi2Te3, pure PANI and Bi2Te3-PANI composite. All the peaks of the pattern for Bi2Te3 can be indexed in rhombohedral structure (JCPDS No: 015-0863) with unit cell parameters: a = 4.358A °; b = 4.358A ° and c = 30.48A °. Broad peaks at 22 ° and 25 ° for pure PANI are observed, which are due to the repeat unit of monomer. Compared with the pure PANI, only one peak is clearly observed at 25 °, the same position, in the XRD pattern of Bi2Te3-PANI composite. The observation of a single peak is related to the monodistribution of the periodicity of the repeat unit of the PANI and ordering of the molecular arrangement of the Bi2Te3 in the PANI matrix (Talwar et al., 2014). This suggests that PANI generate an ordered molecular arrangement of Bi2Te3 in the Bi2Te3-PANI composite. Figure 1 XRD patterns of Pure PANI, Pure Bi2Te3 and Bi2Te3-PANI composite 4.2 UV-vis spectroscopy Figure 2 shows the UV–vis spectra of the samples used to explore the electronic states of Bi2Te3, pure PANI and the Bi2Te3-PANI composite. A characteristic band centred at 697 nm, a shoulder at 478 nm, corresponding to a polaronic transition (polaron- Ï€*) and a band around at 389 nm, assigned to the π–π* electron orbital transition are observed in Bi2Te3-PANI composite. In comparison with UV–vis spectra of the pure PANI: a band around 385 nm, assigned to the π–π* electron orbital transition, shifts to longer wavelength at 389 nm in Bi2Te3-PANI composite. The polaronic transition (polaron- Ï€*) is absent in the pure PANI but is observed in Bi2Te3-PANI composite. These show an interaction between the quinoid ring of PANI and Bi2Te3 (Xia and Wang, 2003). This is a signature of an ordered molecular arrangement in Bi2Te3-PANI composite and it is the purely surface conducting state. Figure 2 UV-vis spectra of Pure PANI, Bi2Te3 and Bi2Te3-PANI composite 4.3 Electrical characterization Figure 3 Variation of the electrical conductivity with temperature of Bi2Te3, PANI and Bi2Te3-PANI composite. The variations of electrical conductivity as a function of temperature of the prepared samples are shown in figure 3. The value of electrical conductivity for Bi2Te3 slightly decreases with the increase in the temperature. However, both PANI and Bi2Te3-PANI composite show increase in the value of electrical conductivity with temperature. The electrical conductivity of the Bi2Te3-PANI composite is higher than that of its pure constituents over a whole temperature range. The enhancement in the surface conductivity indicates the increase in protected states at the surface compared to that of the pure Bi2Te3. This may be due to the large surface provided to the Bi2Te3 by the PANI generated ordered molecular arrangement of Bi2Te3 in the Bi2Te3-PANI composite. 5. Conclusions In conclusion, we carried out a systematic study of structure, UV-Vis Spectra and surface conductivity of Bi2Te3 (5%)-PANI (95%) composite, pure Bi2Te3 and pure PANI. Bi2Te3 was synthesized by a method similar to solvothermal method, whereas, pure PANI and Bi2Te3-PANI composite were synthesized by a chemical oxidative method. The materials were structurally characterized and the electrical properties were investigated in the temperature range from room temperature to 100 °C. The electrical conductivity of the Bi2Te3-PANI composite was found to be higher than that of its pure constituents at all the temperatures. The enhancement in the surface conductivity may be due to the PANI generated ordered molecular arrangement of Bi2Te3 in the Bi2Te3-PANI composite, as confirmed from powder x-ray diffraction (XRD), UV–vis spectral analysis. Acknowledgements It is a pleasure to thank Dr. S. B. Kondawar for helpful discussions. This work was supported by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), India, under women scientist scheme-A (WOS-A), File No. SR/WOS-A/PM-1001/2014. References Chatterjee K., Suresh A., Ganguly S., Kargupta K., Banerjee D., 2009. Bismuth nitrate doped polyaniline – Characterization and properties for thermoelectric application. Mater. Charact. 60, 597–601. Das Damodara V., Soundararajan N., 1988. Size and temperature effects on the thermoelectric power and electrical resistivity of bismuth telluride thin films, Phys. Rev. B 37, 4552-9. Deng Yuan, Xi-song Zhou, Guo-dan Wei, Jing Liu, Ce-Wen Nan, Shu-jing Zhao 2002. Solvothermal preparation and characterization of nanocrystalline Bi2Te3 powder with different morphology, J. of Phy. and chem. of Solids. 63, 2119-2121. Hasan, M., Z., Kane, C., L., 2010. Colloquium: Topological insulators, Reviews of modern physics 82, 3045-23. Hostler S., R., Kaul P., Day K., Qu V., Cullen C., Abramson A., R., 2006. Thermal and electrical characterization of nanocomposites for thermoelectric, IEEE ITHERM 07803295, 24, 1400–5. Li Y., Zhao Q., Wang Y., Bi K., 2011. Synthesis and characterization of Bi2Te3/Polyaniline composites, Mater. Sci. Semicond. Proc. 14, 219-222. Marjanovic, G., C., 2013. Recent advances in polyaniline composites with metals, metalloids and nonmetals, Synthetic Metals 170, 31-56 Stejskal J., Gilbert R.., G., 2002. Polyaniline: Preparation of a Conducting Polymer, Pure Appl. Chem. 74, 857-867. Talwar V., Singh O., Singh R., C., 2014. ZnO assisted polyaniline nanofibers and its application as ammonia gas sensor, Sensors and Actuators: B 191, 276-282. Toshima N., Imai M., Ichikawa S., 2011. Organic–Inorganic Nanohybrids as Novel Thermoelectric Materials: Hybrids of Polyaniline and Bismuth (III) Telluride Nanoparticles, J. Electron. Mater. 40, 898–902. Xia H., Wang Q., 2003. Preparation of Conductive Polyaniline/ Nanosilica particle composites through Ultrasonic Trradiation, J. Appl. Polym. Sci 87, 1811-7. Xu X., Chen L., Wang C., Yao Q., Feng C., J., 2005. Template synthesis of heterostructured polyaniline/Bi2Te3 nanowires, Solid State Chem. 178, 2163-6. Zhao X., B., Hu S., H., Zhao M., J., Zhu T., J., 2002. Thermoelectric properties of Bi0.5Sb1.5 Te3/Polyaniline hybrids prepared by Mechanical blending, Mater. Lett. 52, 147–9. [*]* Corresponding author. Tel.: +91 9921491567; fax: +0-000-000-0000 . E-mail address: [emailprotected] [† ] Corresponding author. Tel.: +91 9890155077; fax: +0-000-000-0000 . E-mail address: [emailprotected] [S1]Elsevier to update with volume and page numbers.

The Environmental Disasters of War Essay -- Iraq War Environment Damag

The Environmental Disasters of War The war in Iraq is a battle that will have many aftereffects. The land, air and water will no doubtingly be targeted. It is inevitable that the war will tale no toll on the environment. The use of weapons of mass destruction is one of the causes for the disastrous outcome that may occur from the war. They contain many hazardous chemicals that will target the environment and cause waste products to be contained in the atmosphere. Weapons of mass destruction will also destroy the layout of the environment, as bombings will destroy many of the earth’s natural resources. These events are the two major effects that will stir from the battle for peace in Iraq. It is fairly expected that these problems cannot be avoided with the manner that the war is being executed. Damage to the earth will occur, and the harm will be enormous. One of the most prominent problems that can have major impact on the environment is that Iraq contains many oil wells around the country. These oil wells have the potential to be seized and used as a large scale destruction device. Should the oil wells be destroyed, there will be a massive disaster area, which can span for miles and miles, and still have effect on other countries. The worry is that because there are so many targeted wells, the effects will be on a extremely larger scale than the oil damage that happened to Kuwait in 1991, as it â€Å"left some parts of Kuwait still lifeless more than a decade later† (Keefe, 2003). An oil spill will target the two main rivers in Iraq, the Tigris and Euphrates, and there are fears that â€Å"Saddam will divert oil into the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, rendering them useless†(Vallis, 2003). These rivers are the main source of fresh... ...ks Cited Cevallos Diego. â€Å"Iraq: Environment Would be Another Victim of War.† Tierramerica. Mar. 5, 2003: 4pp. Lexis Nexis. Susquehanna University, Selinsgrove, PA. March 29, 2003. http://web.lexis-nexis.com Keefe, Bob. â€Å"War In The Gulf: Scene in Iraq: The Environment.† Cox Washington Bureau. Mar. 21, 2003: p.9A . Lexis Nexis. Susquehanna University, Selinsgrove, PA. March 29, 2003. http://web.lexis-nexis.com Pianin, Eric. â€Å"Environmental Damages a Concern: Experts Fear Effects of War on Persian Gulf could be Irreversible.† The Washington Post. Mar. 20, 2003: p.A21. Lexis Nexis. Susquehanna University, Selinsgrove, PA. March 29, 2003. http://web.lexis-nexis.com Vallis, Mary. â€Å"Disaster in the Desert.† National Post. Mar. 21, 2003. : p A18. Lexis Nexis. Susquehanna University, Selinsgrove, PA. March 29, 2003. http://web.lexis-nexis.com

Behind The Lines: Spies In The Civil War :: essays research papers fc

Behind the Lines: Spies in the Civil War   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Civil War was the bloodiest, most devestating war that has ever been fought on American soil. It began on April 12, 1861, at 4:30 in the morning. The main reason that the war was fought was because Southern states believed that they should have the right to use African-Americans as slaves, and the Northern States opposed that belief.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Millions of American men and women fought against each other in this war, and more than half a million died. Yes, that is a fact. The men were usually soldiers. Women tended to be nurses, aides, or doctors, although some of them posed as men in order to be able to fight in the war. Some of these men and women, though, were spies. Instead of fighting with guns and ammunition, these people fought through secrets and sabotage. These tactics turned out to be essential. Battle could be won or lost depending on information aquired from spies.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Back then, spying was hardly the same as it is today, with all of our high-tech gadgets and well-organised secret agent groups. However, most of the things that spies do today were done in the nineteenth century just as effectively. On thing that spies did was send messages, which were usually about the enemy's plans and movements, their troop size, their supplies, and the placement or strength of their forts. Many used coded messages with words that stood for different words. Some had different symbols for letters and numbers. Some spies even used inivisible ink. The spies also had ways of concealing the messages that they had to deliver. Messages were often hidden in articles of clothing. People had to write on silk, that was then sewn into clothing, and spies could also hide information in large metal buttons. Women's clothing was ideal for hiding things in. Sometimes, they would even hide people under their hoop skirts!   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Two other things that spies did often were interceptin gmilitary dispatches and sending supplies. Supplies were often hidden in the same places that messages were hidden. It was also common practice for Confederate spies to hide morphine in the heads of dolls to smuggle it in from the North, as morphine was a painkiller that was desperately needed in Confederate hospitals.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  If a spy was caught, they were usually treated just like common criminals. The penalty for being a spy was most often death by a public hanging, although many spies begged to be shot to death, which was considered to be a more honorable way to go.

How annual report can be used to understand performance

A At he stop of each financial twelvemonth most of the companies make Documents supplying fiscal information such as blance sheets, income and cashflow statements and listing of company operations, calles one-year studies. The information included in the study is compared to the information of old old ages, looking besides at the consequences. This is a criticial portion of the dessision doing procedure of the company for future company tactics and schemes. There are two types of one-year studies depending on their contnents. The first is Annual study to the Securities and Exchange Comission, besides known as signifier 10-k. The 2nd is the stockholder one-year study or corporate one-year study. While the SEC one-year study provides really elaborate fiscal information, the sahreholder reoprt provides more generaized information indicating out the gross revenues and the selling information. To analyze the company ‘s market people should look at the corporate studies, but the user of the information must hold at least basic accounting knowedge, being familiar with company ‘s statements, cognizing where to happen utile information and how to analyze it. Annual studies are created by the direction of the company, so as the direction is responsible for the truth of the information presented in the study. The information is used chiefly by investors to analyze the company ‘s fiscal position and predict future way. To do happening information in the one-year studies easier, the one-year studies have similar construction, and include obligatory parts such as Management ‘s treatment and analysis of operating consequences. Annual studies basicly exhibit fiscal and statistical informations, so as to treat public presentation, markets and production. Puting together gross revenues, net incomes and other fiscal constituents for two or more old ages. This so called fiscal high spots have the intent to find the best attack to doing the company ‘s future scheme. However the one-year studies are composed by the direction, which purpose is to show the company in the best manner, overstating some information and suppress other. So every bit good as the one-year study is, it should n't be the lone beginning of garnering information for the investors to measure the productive and fiscal public presentation of the company. Another major factors for the truth of the information extracted from the one-year study is the ability to destinguish the of import facts and accomplishments of the extractor himself. In order to acquire information from the one-year study foremost must happen 1. All public-treaded companies are required to do one-year studies aviable for the Securities and Exchange Comission ( SEC ) , so to happen there one-year study is a possibility. Although most of the companies send digital coppies of their one-year study via electronic mails to users, or difficult coppies via mailing, normally free of charge. And for imediate obtaining one can ever download digital coppy straight from the company ‘s web site. Naturally the mean one-year study includes: missive to stockholders, Operational Overview ( Management Discussion and Analysis ) , Auditor ‘s study, amalgamate fiscal statements-including balancesheets ; income statements ; cashflow statements, Notes to amalgamate statements and some corporate information-for illustration: Board of managers, officers and stockholder information. In order to garner the needed information one must merely folow the stairss of analyzing the one-year study. First one must look into the last page of the study. It should be written on it: â€Å" Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm † or â€Å" Auditor ‘s Report. † If the one-year study does non hold this subdivision, it is non valid, so the information in it may be non authentical, intending that it is useless. To go on with the study ‘s security review than look into the portion â€Å" Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm † , it should be signed by an active reassuring house, the most celebrated are: Pricewaterhouse Coopers, KPMG, Ernst & A ; Young, Deloitte & A ; Touche. The house ‘s mark confirms that the study was created utilizing By and large Acepted Acounting Principles ( GAAP ) . Shoping through the study, the following portion coming is the â€Å" Letter to the stockholders † , incorporatin g summarised information about the company ‘s yesteryear, present and future. That could be utile for more basic determinations, based on more summarized information. Following are Notes To Consolidated Financial Statements, here is most of the neggative onformation about the company. Such as critical partnerships, cases and many other types of hazards that the company has taken. The following phase in analyzing the one-year study is reading the portion titled: â€Å" Management ‘s Discussion And Analysis. † Here all the information normally has the intent to show the company in a good manner, normally written by the PR experts, I ‘m non stating that this information is non valuable, but it may be distorted in some manner, so the reader must hold that one on head. The following portion of the study ca n't be manupalated, it is called Amalgamate Statements Of Financials. Incorporating merely unsmooth Numberss, it ca n't be influented. Looking at the Numberss, the reader makes his ain feeling based on his ain analysis. This portion of the study is divided by three chief parts. Firtst is balance sheet, showing a snapshot of the company ‘s state of affairs, but it may be changed many times from that past minute, so the information that contains may be non true any longer. The 2nd portion is the cashflow statement, demoing the monye flow in the company and it ‘s alteration during certain periods of clip. Very crutial portion of inspecting company ‘s statement, based on the fact that the monyeflow is one of the most of import factors organizing company ‘s position. The 3rd portion is based on the net income / loss dependance here is the most utile analyzis demoing if the house is passing more than it is gaining, howerver, the information may change due to some factors. The study besides includes an analysis of the Consolidated Statements of Financials, which is the undermentioned portion of the study. This analysis is basicly comparing balance sheets, or cashflows for different old ages ( one or more ) sing the tendencies. Tendencies are really utile sing any anticipations made about the company. The longer the period is the better the tendencies are distinged by the reader. The information compared for several old ages is evaluated in percantages, presuming 100 % as the index given in one of the old ages named basal twelvemonth, the other values in the other old ages could be higher or lower and in really rear instances being the same. This shows the existent alteration in the ammount for the different points. Than the sums of the similar points are expressed as a per centum of the basal twelvemonth ‘s ammount and that is how is formed the index or the tendency ratios. In order to susccesfully construe the information, the reader could seek specific information replying sepcific inquiries. For illustration an addition in the stock of the company, could be provoced by altering the whole st ock list policy. Increasing in revenue enhancement could be a consequence of really increased gross revenues, but somewhat altering net incomes. Monitoring he fixed assets and the long term debt besides could take to many concealed information about how these assets are being financed. That was the horizontal manner of analyzing Amalgamate Statements of Financials. The perpendicular method is for comparing statements of companies tha differ in size. For illustration in the perpendicular anlysis gross revenues woud be expressed as 100 % and every point in the income statement is expressed as a portion of this percantage. Sing the information that manner, the reader can examin the grounds of increasing the value of the current assets and stock. Sum uping the information given, I must state that analyzing company ‘s market, productive and fiscal public presentation is a long procedure, that requires more attending than it seems. To be the analysis every bit accurate as possible, the reader must detect the smallest item in the figures of the study and the histories. Because the slightest alteration in the tendencies of an facet of the company ‘s position, may be tantamount to a dramatic alteration in future. Reading the study and analyzing the histories is merely non plenty. It is required far more deep inspecting of the informations presented and separating the valuable information, straight related to the topic. Market and productive and fiscal public presentation are influenced by many factors and this is the ground why their analysis is so difficult to accomplish. And that every component of the studies and the histories has it ‘s immense part in this analysis. Following these stairss and passing the cli p required will likely take to an success analyzing the tendencies, that could reply the exact inquiry which response the analyser seeks, and replying that inquiry to construct up an full new scheme and maneuver over the topic.

In Our Modern Urban Lifestyle Essay

Following the development of technology, the quality of life becomes better off. It is attractive enough to live in cities, because people can enjoy a lot of convenient facilities. However, some people believe that many people do not know their neighbours and the sense of community has been lost with the increasing number of people in cities. In this essay the effect of the modern urban lifestyle in cities will be discussed. Nowadays, many people tend to live in cities for different reasons. They move into cities mainly for work. Because they leave early in the morning and come back home late in the evening. They do not want to waste their time on a train or bus. If they live in cities, they do not need to wake up early to take a train or bus. Furthermore, living in cities means that they can easily find places or facilities to fill their every need in the urban life, which is valued in the individual lifestyle rather than the sense of community. On the other hand, many people seem to be more isolated than ever before. Because of focusing on the individual lifestyle in modern time, it is hard to have an opportunity to make a deep relationship with people living around. People do not usually know what happens to their neighbours. Humans are social creatures that cannot be independent of others. As a result, even if there are a lot of convenient places in cities, they cannot fulfil satisfaction of people. Most people in cities fall into the sense of isolation. They need to realise the negative effect of their lifestyle and make effort to join in communities in their lives, so that they can live in a simpler way of life.

Handmaid’s Tale †the character of Offred Essay

Margaret Atwood’s novel The Handmaid’s Tale houses a very authentic range of characters, in a complex world. Set in the Republic of Gilead, a totalitarian and theocratic state, where a reproduction rate is rapidly decreasing, some women are labeled as handmaids and assigned to elite couples that have difficulty conceiving. The personality of one character in particular, however, may seem hasty and misunderstood at first glance. But given the circumstances, she proves to hold the values of humanity: she has her own set of opinions, flaws, and habits; has regrets; and a balance of courage and fear. Furthermore, the setting this character must survive in is not much different from today’s society. The government is deemed corrupt, fear of punishment is instilled, and the leaders ensure that the citizens adhere to the law. Finally, the aid and support that she receives, the faith and hope she has, and the development of friendships she makes also has a likeness to ordinary relationships in our world. Hence, the novel’s protagonist, Offred is a relatively relatable individual, especially in terms of her character, her surroundings and her supporting roles. Offred conveys a sense of reality in her personality as she is not perfect and has her own set of opinions, flaws, and habits. For instance, Offred has many moments and flashbacks where she reminisces about her past. This implies that she has regrets and obstacles in her life, just as every human being does. When Offred describes her appearance, albeit briefly, it signifies the insecurities that she keeps bottled up inside â€Å"I am thirty-three years old. I have brown hair. I stand five seven without shoes. I have trouble remembering what I used to look like. I have viable ovaries. I have one more chance† (Atwood, 143). Had she been proud of what she looked like, she most likely would have gone into more detail, but the lack of words plainly states that she thinks nothing special about herself. At one point that she mentions that she does not like to look at herself in the mirror. This shows that she does not look at her self as superior and she is also self-conscious of her own appearance. She also possesses a certain attributes that any person would possess; she is rebellious and disobedient in constricting situations. This is what makes her more interesting and what sets her apart from the rest. Although Moira, Offred’s best friend, was an even more revolutionary character, she seemed too daring to be true. A real life person would not be likely to pull off stunts that Moira had accomplished, for example escaping from the Red Centre â€Å"She had both hands on the lid when she felt something hard and sharp possible metallic jab into her ribs from behind. Don’t move, said Moira, or I’ll stick it all the way in, I know where, I’ll puncture your lung†, â€Å"I couldn’t believe how easy it was to get out of the Center. In that brown outfit I just walked right through. I kept going as if I knew where I was heading, till I was out of sight† (Atwood, 130, 244). Offred had just enough courage and just enough fear to seem realistic. Keeping these points in mind, it is clear that Offred could have been an ordinary character in our society. The Republic of Gilead, as strange as it may seem, actually has some similarities to the modern day and this is primarily seen by Offred’s response to its laws and regulations that they instill. To her, the government appears as corrupt as most governments in this world, and dictators still thrive, just as they do in Offred‘s society. Offred responds to this by doing nothing, which would be the decision of most people if forced to live under these conditions. The leaders of Gilead, after all, employ obedient enforcers to make sure that citizens abide by their laws. She mentions this in the book when she retells how the changes in her nation started. She describes in full length that she, along with all women in the U. S. , were forced from their jobs by men in uniform carrying machine guns â€Å"Not fired, he said. Let go. You can’t work here anymore, it’s the law† (Atwood, 176). The fear of punishment is instilled, akin to the terrors of being imprisoned or given a death sentence in our world. Penalties are dreaded so much in Gilead, for most of the time they are unjustly given out and they vary from hanging to ‘Salvaging’; which is being beaten to death â€Å" The three bodies hang there, even with the white sacks over their heads looking curiously stretched, like chickens strung up by the necks in a meat shop window; like births with their wings clipped, like flightless births, wrecked angels† (Atwood, 277). Offred ultimately responds passively, on account of this fear, and because liberal ways are shunned in Gilead. Margaret Atwood was right in not giving Offred any extraordinary abilities to surpass or overthrow the tyrants that ruled over her life as it would result in a loss of Offred’s relatable self. Relationships with other people are a necessity of life that defines human existence. As Offred progresses with day-to-day life, she develops these friendships, which ensure that she exists. The friends and allies that she made were essential for keeping her sanity intact because without any shoulders to lean on in times of sorrow, a person’s mental capacity could break. Amongst her friends were Cora, whom Offred was not very close with but did not have any tension with, Ofglen, Moira, her best friend, and Nick, the Commander’s chauffeur that Offred opens up to and confides in towards the closure of the story. Offred frequently finds herself seeking support and knowledge in people who share the same beliefs and opinions as her, most significantly from Ofglen and Moira. This portrays the doubts about her world that she holds: another human quality. From Ofglen, she realizes that she is not alone in thinking that their country is corrupt and that something must be done to change things â€Å"At last Ofglen speaks. â€Å"’Do you think God listens,’ she says, ‘to these machines? ’ She is whispering: our habit at the Center†(Atwood, 168). However from Moira, Offred finds out that escaping from their strict nation is not as easy as she had thought, as Moira could not even arrive at such a courageous feat. Without her supporting roles, Offred could have been an ignorant citizen in Gilead that was brainwashed into believing every word that the government fed them. If that were the case, Offred’s connection to the readers would have been lost. Furthermore, Offred turns to hope and faith to console her and help her to move on with life. Just as her friends helped her, these virtues aided in protecting her wellbeing; though forced, since she had nothing else to look to. The hope that Offred’s husband is still alive is very similar to the feelings of families in modern day society that pray for the safe return of their lost, loved one from war or other degrees of separation. Faith is introduced to Offred when she acknowledges the pillow in her room with the word ‘faith’ printed on it â€Å"There’s a hard cushion on it, with a petit point cover: FAITH, in square print surrounded by a wealth of lilies† (Atwood, 57). The fact that it is something she can read implies that there is still hope, as not everything has been taken away from her. This knowledge strengthens her belief that change will come, though subconsciously since Offred never mentions it. The faith that she puts into the Commander also ties into the trust she gives him when playing games, reading magazines and when he brings her to Jezebel’s â€Å"He wanted me to play Scrabble with him†, â€Å"He sits me down, and sits himself down beside me. He puts an arm around my shoulder† (Atwood, 144, 236). Trust is a very common issue that people have trouble giving out. But in examining these elements it is clear Offred’s confidantes have impacted her life and how they make her into a real character. The Handmaid’s Tale is appealing due to its main character, Offred, who shows a great deal of realism in a world of impossibilities. Her character itself is strong-willed, but moderate, and is the perfect mix of what it is to be human. Through her, many of the readers can see a bit of themselves in Offred. She is an excellent example of how a regular person would behave if they were thrust into the world of The Handmaid’s Tale.