BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODS - Essay Example It is of high importance to mention that the better levels of technology powered connectivity are resulting in the successful diffusion of various global trends, which emerges from various markets around the world. Because of faster evolution of the globalized trends, it can be said that the consumers are getting more and more aware of their needs and wants. It also has to be said that the better connectivity is helping the rapid dispersion of global trends from the well established markets to the emerging markets, thereby creating the opportunity for development of consumer demands. This entire cycle of increasing in consumer demand is having a direct impact on the part of the consumers in a circular manner. Faced by growing domestic demands in the marketplace, multiple companies located in various markets around the world are increasingly trying their level best to enter the new markets as they promote significant amount of business opportunity As a result, a major shift of power balances is happening in the markets from the sellers to the buyers. The shift is more happening because of the large number of alternatives that are being currently made available in the market. This has brought the focus on communicating the value of the products to the right set of consumers. While doing so, the companies and business organizations focus on the process of usage of celebrity endorsers. The buying process is in general bifurcated into three phases, that is, ‘pre-purchase’, ‘purchase’ as well as ‘post-purchase’ (Rayport & Jaworski, 2003, p. 119). The decision making process of the consumers comprises of need recognition, search for information, alternative evaluation, purchase as well as post purchase analysis (Lamb and et.al, 2011, p. 189). With the rise of competition in the modern business world, marketing communication has become vibrant and filled with endorsements. As a result, it has become very challenging for brands to get noticed by the

Functional Analysis of Behaviour Clinical and Ethical Issues

Functional Analysis of Behaviour Clinical and Ethical Issues Discuss the clinical and ethical issues involved in  conducting a Functional Analysis of behaviour when  working with a client with a learning disability. What  evidence is there that this is an effective approach? Word count: Contents (Jump to) Introduction A Holistic approach The case for employing the functional analysis of behaviour approach Difficulties with functional analysis Functional analysis in everyday clinical practice Case study using functional analysis Ethical issues relating to the functional analysis approach Combining different approaches Conclusion References Faced with challenging behaviours shown by people with learning disabilities, the psychologist must decide which analytical approach – behavioural, biophysical, ecological or psychodynamic – will best facilitate appropriate therapeutic interventions. A number of wide-ranging reviews of the available literature, together with meta-analyses of this area, indicate that interventions based on the behavioural approach offers the most effective way forward. The behavioural approach advocates that all behaviour is learned, and that behaviours are functions of the interplay between an individual and various factors within his/her environment In his meta-analysis, Didden (1996) concludes that there is â€Å"a convincing level of change in terms of reducing challenging behaviour through systematically applied behavioural approaches†, and that behavioural approaches are much more effective than, for example, medication. The behavioural approaches used to tackle difficult/challenging behaviour fall into three main categories: [RZ1]â€Å"Differential Reinforcement† involves what is essentially a reward system, whereby an individual is encouraged to exhibit appropriate, rather than challenging, behaviour. â€Å"Gentle Teaching† aims to minimise or eliminate problematic behaviour by creating an environment in which bonding, ; interdependence and mutual respect are paramount, thereby eliminating the need for challenging behaviour. The teaching of functionally equivalent responses involves firstly a â€Å"Functional Analysis† of a particular problematic behaviour, followed by the teaching of more appropriate behaviour, which serves the same function. When attempting to decide on an appropriate intervention strategy, there is a body of evidence to suggest that the last of these three approaches – the functional analysis – can, if conducted properly, provide an invaluable pointer as to what type of therapeutic intervention might be appropriate. This essay will explore the clinical advantages and disadvantages of using a functional analysis of behaviour when working with clients with learning disabilities, examining the research in this area (much of which indicates that this is a generally successful approach) and look at the ethical issues arising from this particular psychological approach. Definition: Learning Disability A report from the British Psychological Society (BPS 2004), on Clinical Practice Guidelines for interventions for people with learning disabilities and Severely Challenging Behaviour â€Å"states that  ,if an individual is to be reasonably regarded as having a â€Å"learning disability the individual’s intellectual and adaptive/social functions must both be significantly impaired; and the condition must have existed before the onset of adulthood. An extremely broad-ranging group of learning-disabled individuals fall within these parameters. Definition: Challenging Behaviour The following definition by Emerson et al (1988) is widely regarded as a sound working definition: â€Å"Severely challenging behaviour refers to behaviour of such an intensity, frequency or duration that the physical safety of the person or others is likely to be placed in serious jeopardy, or behaviour which is likely to seriously limit or delay access to and use of ordinary community facilities.† The nature of the â€Å"challenging behaviour† (the causes and functions of which can be many and diverse) itself has been described as â€Å"behaviour which: places the individual or others in physical danger; results in destruction of their immediate environment; causes at least an hour’s disruption; or behaviour which limits or delays access to ordinary community facilities† (Scottish Office, 1998). Challenging behaviours may involve verbal or physical aggression, self-harm behaviour, and other non-injurious (but nevertheless undesirable) behaviours. Challenging behaviour is generally understood to be triggered by the interaction between variables within individuals themselves (mood, health, etc.) and variables within their social and physical environment.[RZ2] Functional analysis are comprises various methods, all with the aim of establishing the link between antecedents, behaviour and its consequences. (Kazdin,1994) More specifically, functional analysis are is a tools to reveal reinforcing conditions[RZ4], I am translating from Norwegian)..established operations and triggers for problem behaviour. (Vold, 2005) This information is then used for customizing interventions and treatment for the person in question. This definition includes all systematic methods that examine the root cause(s) of a certain behaviour. These methods include interviews and standardised tools like MAS (Durand, 1990) and FAI (O’Neill et al, 1997), different methods of observations of the person in his/hers environment, likce â€Å"scatter plot† (Touchette et al, 1985) and ABC charts ( antecedent-behaviour-consequence ) charts. (Bijou et al, 1968) In addition, we there arehave the experimental methods, also called analogue conditions. These methods consists of the a systematiccally testing and manipulation of events (or other factors[RZ5]), which are thought to be associated with the occurrence of problem behavior. It is therefore a means of formally examining the relationship between specific events and the particular problematic/challenging behaviors of an individual in a specific environment. (Iawata, et al, ,1982) These methods complement each other, but by using one – or a combination of them the â€Å"functional analyst† aims to have a much clearer idea of the triggers of, and the purposes served by, a specific behaviour. It should also be pointed out that functional analysis can be used in either a clinical application or as a valuable research method (Vollmer and Smith, 1996). Furthermore, Vollmer and Smith concluded that functional analysis could be used to identify individuals with the specific behavioural functions[RZ6] required enabling psychologists to pursue specific avenues of research (while bearing in mind that functional analysis does not always yield conclusive results). Rather than simply looking at the functional analysis as a means of dealing with challenging behaviours, Groden and LeVasseur 111posit a more holistic approach, which takes into account â€Å"the dynamic relationship between the individual, his or her skills and the environment, including the stressors, in which the behaviour occurs.† A behavioural assessment method, which has stood the test of timeme, is detailed in Groden et al (1996).[RZ7] Using this method, the behavioural assessment data for each individual is obtained from a number of sources. The procedure not only involves including a functional analysis of the target behaviour, but also an ecological inventory, a Stress Survey Schedule, and reinforcement surveys. The information is then placed in an illustrated A-B-C format, with each illustration designed to match the individuals intellectual abilities and reinforcers. It depicts the preferred mode of behaviour, which the person with a learning disability can use in a specific problematic scenario. In the early years of the use of the functional analysis by psychologists working with people with learning disabilities who exhibited challenging behaviour, four key functions were identified: attentionattention- seeking, escape (task or social avoidance),; sensory reinforcement, and tangible events (Carr, 1994). Functional analysis can uncover new functional properties of problem behaviour, but it is also necessary to develop additional strategies to address the complexities of an individual’s normal (i.e. non-experimental) environment. One such approach is the hypothesis-driven model developed by Repp et al (1988), which is based on both direct observation and the analysis of antecedent and consequent events. In the seminal paper â€Å"Psychological interventions for severely challenging behaviours shown by people with learning disabilities – Clinical Practice Guidelines†, the British Psychological Society established step-by-step â€Å"gold standard† guidelines for those who wish to employ the functional analysis of behaviour approach. (BPS, 2004) Having gained the appropriate consent[RZ8], the process should commence with the Pre-assessment, (a term first employed by Toogood and Timlin (1996)), at which stage the psychologist engages in initial information gathering, with a view to honing the initial focus of the psychological assessment. At the Assessment stage, the assessor collects and then evaluates all appropriate information about the person with a learning disability, the environment (both social and physical) and the challenging behaviour exhibited by the individual. These steps should enable the psychologist to collect the information required to create a well-structured psychological assessment and an appropriate intervention strategy, and to establish a baseline, which will enable the psychologist to measure the success of any intervention. At the Formulation stage, the psychologist draws up a hypothesis about the nature of the specific behavioural problem(s), thereby providing a guide to subsequent clinical activity as well as establishing key evaluation criteria. It will also specify the target of any intervention. At the Intervention stage, the psychologist will endeavour to change the individual’s problematic behaviour in an appropriate manner, utilising both technical psychological expertise as well asnd the detailed information previously accumulated about the individual and his/her environment. At the Evaluation stage, the success/effectiveness of the intervention(s) will be weighed up and carefully considered. The process is finalised at the self-explanatory Feedback stage (from and to all interested parties, first and foremost the person with a learning disability). In the course of their study, Vollmer and Smith (1996) concluded that functional analysis has its limitations. Most importantly, some interventions derived from functional analysis can be difficult to carry out while still maintaining non-intrusive procedural integrity. Martin et al (1999) demonstrated that there can be problems in interpreting the data arising from functional analysis in an experimental context. For the purposes of their study, the validity of a functional analysis was investigated using three different data-interpretation methodologies (two previously utilised methods, and â€Å"criterion Z† created by the authors). They ultimately concluded that all three methods were equally unsatisfactory as a way of establishing the function of a particular behaviour. [RZ9] It should also be remembered (Freeman, Special Connections website). that challenging behaviour does not always have a specific function. It is possible,; instead, that â€Å"internal sensory feedback† is responsible for triggering an individual’s challenging behaviour. Such behaviours tend to occur when the person with a learning disability is alone, or arise in many quite different and contrasting social scenarios, and may be the result of internal, rather than external, reinforcers.[RZ10] Lack of agreement about function across different methods After carrying out a thorough functional analysis, a psychologist (or other practitioner) should be in a position to identify the cause-effect relationship between an environmental â€Å"trigger† and a specific behaviour. However, different approaches to functional analysis appear to give conflicting results. Toogood and Timlin (1996) looked at the three approaches to functional analysis described above and found a low level of agreement between each of the different approaches in relation to their understanding of the target behaviours’ functions. The importance of identifying idiosyncratic variables A very wide range of stimuli can trigger challenging behaviour. Because a wide range of unanticipated variables can come into play, certain some of which may appear to be apparently insignificant, but which are in factin fact key, these variables can may be overlooked during the initial assessment, thereby giving rise to misleading results. An important study by Carr et al (1997) underlined the necessity of identifying specific â€Å"idiosyncratic† (or unanticipated) variables. In this particular study, each of the three clients was autistic (and regarded, broadly speaking, as learning disabled) and had exhibited problem behaviours such as aggression, self-harm and vandalism. Interviews and direct observations indicated that these challenging behaviours might serve the functions of attention gaininggaining attention or escape. On subsequent and closer examination using Carr’s ABC, narrative protocol, however, it became apparent that specific â€Å"idiosyncratic† stimulus variables (or the absence thereof) had a major influence on the results of the functional analysis. In the final stage of the study, the specific idiosyncratic stimulus variables which had been observed in a naturalistic environmental context (small hand-held objects, and the presence of puzzles/magazines in the room) were manipulated[RZ11] in an experimental context (a room with a two-way mirror that facilitated the video-taping of the proceedings) with a view to establishing their effect on the outcome of the functional analysis. While this study generally endorsed the usefulness of the functional analysis approach, it underlined the importance of meticulous attention to detail to ensure the accurate identification of behavioural-stimulus variables which that were not immediately obvious. Failure to do so would have significantly altered the outcomes of functional analyses. The authors concluded that that tailored guidelines should be in place when it is suspected (because there is a discrepancy between information arising from interviews and actual observed behaviours; when different results occur in different locations; or if the results differ from day to day) that idiosyncratic stimuli may be significant triggers for the behaviours being studied, e.g. .because there is a discrepancy between information arising from interviews and actual observed behaviours, or when different results occur in different locations, or if the results differ from day to day. Taking into account the above-described difficulties, together with the fact that a thorough functional analysis is time consuming,. pPsychologists in everyday clinical work are faced with a number of challenges. Some of these are of ethical nature and will be discussed later, whilst others are more practical issues. It follows from the initial definition of functional analysis used in this essay that the term is applied for different procedures, each presenting both the practitioner and the client with different challenges and benefits. In addressing the fact that time limitations can often compromise attempts to complete a thorough functional analysis in its more experimental design, Wallace and Iwata (1999) examined the extent to which variations in session duration (5,10five, ten, and 15 minutes) affected the outcome of a functional analysis. Their findings led to the conclusion that brief sessions did not give less clarity than longer sessions. An important study by Derby et al (1992) provided a analysis of the success of brief functional analysis. This study presents a summary of the results of 79 cases which used functional assessment procedures in order to determine how often the brief functional assessment successfully identified the triggers of aberrant behaviour, and whether the treatments based on the assessment were effective. Given that only 90 minutes were generally allocated to outpatient evaluations in the instructions of interest to the authors, Derby et al adapted the functional analysis procedures described by Carr and Durand (1985) accordingly. They went on to publish a report summarising the results of 79 cases in an effort to establish whether functional assessments correctly identified the â€Å"specific maintaining conditions of aberrant behaviour†,† and if subsequent treatments were effective. In each of the 79 studies, clients were, under pre-specified conditions, evaluated by direct observation of behaviour. Of the 63% of the cases studied in which functional analysis correctly identified the function of aberrant behaviour, 77% resulted in effective treatment. This finding suggests that the abbreviated 90-minute functional assessment can in many cases successfully lead to successful treatments. These â€Å"short-cuts† should not, however, entirely replace the full-scale, thoroughly researched, non time-limited functional analysis, but can be viewed as a viable â€Å"second best† alternative when available time is limited. It should be noted that tThe ecological validity of functional analysis methodology has been questioned (Martin et al, 1999) as the assessments take place outside the natural environment where the problematic behaviour usually takes place. When relying upon informant-based and/or descriptive methods, other problems arise, and psychologists need to ask themselves questions about the informants’ capacities to record observations without traces of interpretation. For example, tThe fact that clients are being observed may well influence their behaviour and invalidate results. In an inpatient setting, the mere presence of an observer may change the ecological environment, which will affect all the clients’ behaviour, and the antecedents and/or triggers for the target behaviour will be increased or decreased, and the data may be invalidated. Carr and Durand (1985) have provided evidence that the functional analysis approach can give rise to effective intervention strategies. They posit that, broadly speaking, â€Å"challenging behaviour fulfils four main functions : These are (a) a means of gaining attention (b) an ‘â€Å"escape from demands’† (c) a ‘â€Å"tangible reinforcement’† and (d) a means of obtaining â€Å"sensory stimulation†. A form foofr self injuring behaviour , for instance, head banging , may well fit into one or more of these functions.. But the head banging doesn’t fails to tell us whether the person is doing it because of frustration, hallucinations, anger or a middle ear infection.[RZ12] It is widely recognised that people with learning disabilities often have limited verbal communication ability. Many may therefore rely on non-verbal means of expressing themselves, especially in regards to communicating emotions. As a whole, people with learning disability are more prone to suffer from mental illness, personality disorders, anxiety and depression than the rest of the population. But whatever function the challenging behaviour fulfils, it can be seen as a form of learned communication that previously has fulfilled the needs of the person with a learning disability. A person with a learning disability who gains a caregiver’s undivided attention (even if the caregiverr is angry or irritated) more readily by shouting than by talking politely will tend to conclude that the most efficient and effective way to get the carer’s attention is to engage in the aforementioned challenging behaviour. A self-injury by a person with a learning disability may result in a show of gratifying concern from a carer. This â€Å"positive† outcome may lead to repetition of the self-injurious behaviour. One or more problem behaviours can, in certain circumstances, serve the same function, and can occur in a chain of escalating seriousness (e.g. minor fiddling with a small object leading on to the violent hurling of a larger object, minor complaints leading to vicious abuse). Awareness of this can enable a caregiverr to intervene early in the â€Å"chain,†, thus minimising negative consequences (i.e. events which come directly after an instanc e of problematic behaviour (Albin et al, 1995). Caregivers should be careful not to simply assume that a consequence is regarded as a â€Å"punishment†, and should consider whether the supposed punishment decreases or in fact increases the undesirable behaviour. For example, iIn a setting such as a hospital for people with learning disabilities detained under the Mental Health Act, for example, consequences such as restraint or even seclusion may actually be increaseing the incidence of challenging behaviour, as the behaviour in question can provide a means of gratification. The following case study shows how a functional analysis was useful to show the likely presence of these factors at play with a woman with a learning disability detained under the Mental Health Act in a medium secure unit. Case study: The 25 year old woman had a dual diagnosis of learning disability and a mental illness.[RZ13] She was admitted to a mixed gender ward with both male and female staff. She was a very big and strong lady and her challenging behaviour, which took the form of attacks for no apparent reason, posed a threat both to staff and fellow patients. Prior to herBy admission, a pre – assessment and initial risk assessment had been carried out. This was followed up by an initial assessment, carried out by nursing staff who recorded theing frequency and severity of her challenging behaviour in an ABC chart, as well as monitoreding activities and situations the patient she seemed to enjoy. Her mental health symptoms were treated with the recommended drugs. The data collected showed up to four weeks without challenging behaviour that wasn’t easily deflated. On At occasion (during a one-to-two week period)s she could, however, during a one to two weeks period, display behaviour that at least once a day lead to necessary restraint by staff. The intervention put in place  included allocation of a specific health care worker that would initiate activities that the patient she liked doing and instruction to staff to redirect  her when she was becoming restless. Due to her lack of communication skills, key staff was trained in specific ways of communicating with her. After approximately six6 months there was a marked increased frequency in the incidents of challenging behavior as well as in the duration and violence involved. . Although the patient’sher communication skills had improved and her daily activities had been refined to suit her strengths and interests, her attacks became so viciously that seclusion became an unfortunate necessity at least three times a month, usually within the same week. As no new antecedents were detected, a functional analysis was carried out , which included the three main methods, was carried out: Nursing staff continued to observe her the patient continuously and filled in ABC charts. Records were taken of her sleeping pattern, food and drink intake and menstrual cycle (informant-based method). Any changes in the ward were recorded, i.e. new admissions, staff leaving and new staff appointed. Assistant psychologists observed her on the ward and recorded behaviour on during 5 five-minute s intervals (direct observation). The clinical psychologist, who also had participated in observations, analysed the data and drew up a hypothesis about the nature of the increased challenging behaviour. On this basis of this, variables in the patient’s environment were, one at athe time, changed and tested (experimental method). The data collection demonstrated that the incidents of challenging behaviour peaked at a certain time in her menstrual period, indicating a hormonal factor. This factor alone was not conclusive enough on its own to account for her behaviour. It was treated as a setting factor that increased the probability of incidents, when short-term triggers were also present. The observations also carried out highlighted that when restraint was necessary, male staff carried it out, due to the patient’s size and strength, mainly did this. When there wereith only female staff working inon the ward, there was a significant reduction in her attacks, provided that she was being kept occupied by staff to avoid boredom. The policy and procedures for seclusion made it mandatory for staff to remove clothing that she might use to hurt herself with. Although female staff always carried out removal of clothing, she was still being placed in restraints by male staff. Direct observations and staff reports suggested that the presence of male staff during this process escalated her behaviour. Most importantly, however, was the correlation between her challenging behaviour and the presence of a specific male member of the staff. Nursing reports showed that when he was off duty, the client’s challenging behaviour never reached the level when seclusion was necessary. Furthermore, observations showed that she was always happy to greet this member of staffstaff member when he arrived for work, and she frequently sought him out for help or company.[RZ14]. The interventions implemented were to move  the male member of staffstaff member to another ward for a period of time and to  stop male staff participation intervention in the restraint processrestraints. Guidelines were implemented to ensure that the patient she was dressed in clothes she could safely wear if seclusion was necessary. The cA contraceptive pill was prescribed in order to keep her hormone level in balance, and a program with intermittent positive reinforcement was developed to re-introduce a certain interaction with male staff.[RZ15] The intervention was successful insofar that heras the patient’s challenging behaviour decreased. It demonstrates the effectiveness of a functional analysis as well as the danger of interventions become too intrusive. But it also, it highlights many of the ethical challenges a practitioner might face when working with people with learning disability and challenging behaviour.[RZ16] Given that the vast majority of individuals with learning disabilities are highly vulnerable to abuse, neglect and exploitation, it is vital that an â€Å"ethical framework† exists, within which practitioners can operate when using the functional analysis approach. The practitioner must also ensure the following: that he/she operates within the law of the land at all times; the practitioner must endeavour to operate within the parameters imposed by the relevant professional association’s’ Code of Practice; must adhere to local standards and policies (e.g. those set by a particular Trust); and must operate (as far as possible, given the previous strictures) within his/her own personal set of ethics and principles. Consent As with any other assessment or intervention, the client or service-user must give his or her consent. People with learning disabilities encompass a broad range of abilities. Some will understand the implications of assessments and interventions and will be able to give their consent, whilst others are unable to do so. The latter group may have guardians to provide consent on their behalf. But most lay people tend to accept without much questioning that â€Å"the professionals know best.† . It is the

Racism: The Artificial Category of Race Essay examples -- Sociology Ra

Racism: The Artificial Category of Race THESIS: Scientists and other intellectuals recognize the modern concept of "race" as an artificial category that developed over the past five centuries due to encounters with non-European people. Even though people still attempt to organize humans into categories according to their race, these categories have been shown to have no scientific basis. The term "race" is a modern concept. It's definition has adopted radically new meaning over the past few centuries. Currently, the term is used to characterize differences among human groups. According to the Oxford English Dictionary the term "race" in 1512 is "a group or class of persons, animals, or things, having some common feature or features." Today, Oxford's definition is quite different: "a local geographic or global human population distinguished by genetically transmitted characteristics and/or any of the major biological definitions of man distinguished by physically evident features, for example, Caucasian, Negroid, and Mongoloid." This definition is a result of regular interaction with non-European people. The Europeans began to explore other lands, thus creating the idea that some people are different than them and should not be under the same category as them. The constant interaction with groups of people who’s lifestyles were very different led Europeans to believe that they were a different "kind" of people. Scientists worked on and created many different ways to classify the different people they found. This unrefined method of categorization was the origin of a new culture-oriented taxonomic system for human beings. The system is based on the "Great Chain of Being," which is a way of classifying things according to... ...ces of Man. New York: The Macmillian Company and Their Distribution, 1925. Holli, Melvin G. "Race, Ethnicity and Urbanization: Selected Essays." Journal of American Ethnic History 16 (1996): 110-125. Myers, Norma. Reconstructing the Black Past: Blacks in Britain 1780-1830. Portland: Frank Cass Press, 1996. Philip, David. Race and Ethnicity. Lansdowne: Citadel Press, 1980. "Race." Oxford English Dictionary. First ed. 1928. "Race." Webster's New World Dictionary. Third ed. 1988. Smedley, Audrey. Race in North America: Origin and Evolution of a Worldview. Boulder: Westview Press, 1999. Takaki, Ronald. A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1989. Tobias, Phillip. "The Meaning of Race." Race and Social Difference. Baxtor, Paul, Basil Sansom ed. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books Ltd., 1972. 19-43.

Ethical Challenges Essay

When meeting clients at community and social events the issue of confidentiality and privacy arises. And I agree with Stacey Mason that personal and professional boundaries should not be blurred meaning that clients should not try to consider social event as an excellent opportunity to talk to counselor about certain disturbances. I think confidentiality won’t be broken if relations between the counselor and client remain professional and defined. Of course, some clients may think counselor may share discussed information with the audience, but professional counselor will never use shared information as advantage over the person. I agree that the principles of beneficence and confidentiality should not be violated in any case. In situations, when client is viewed as danger to counselor, the last should take preventive measures either reporting police or informing the relatives. Thus, I agree with Stacey mason that the only case when the principle of confidentiality may be violated is when it is necessary to prevent a suicide attempt. I think that Meagan Bowser’s position on key ethical challenges is valid as well. There are clients who don’t want others to not about their visits to counselors, and, in such situation, counselor is recommended no to approach the client until the client says something to the counselor showing willingness to communication in informal environment. Of course, the counselor should not talk about treatment, counseling or other related issues. I think that counselors should always think of client’s privacy and confidentiality. I see the second situation is more confused and perplexing and professional counselor has to reassure the client that his confidentiality won’t be violated as, there are cases, when under severe stress students attempt to commit a suicide. I agree with the idea that the key responsibility of the counselor is to persuade the girl to tell parents about her problems, not to tell parents himself. Only professional counselors are able to process student’s emotions and direct them in the beneficial way.

Four Rightly Guided Caliphs Essay

Muhammad’s mission, like many other prophets, was to call people to the worship and submission of the one true God. After his death this mission was left to those whom followed his teachings. Those who truly followed in the Prophet’s foot steps were proclaimed The Rightly Guided Caliphs. They were Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, Uthman and Ali, and were the Four Rightly Guided Caliphs, all of which were amongst the earliest and closest companions of the Prophet Muhammad. Each of these Caliphs contributed greatly to the development of Islam as well as the contradictory emergence of the Sunni and Shi’ite schism. Abu Bakr was the first of the four Caliphs and ruled from 632-634 A. C. Abu Bakr was unfortunate to have the burden of leadership placed on him during the most sensitive of Muslim times. Since the death of Muhammad was quickly spreading, many Muslims and tribes decided to rebel, refusing to pay Zakat. Also, many claimed that the prophethood of Muhammad had been placed on them, this only made the tribes revolt stronger. He had to deal with the threat of two powerful empires, the Roman Empire and the Persian, of which threatened Islamic state in Medina. Abu Bakr himself led a charge against the revolting tribes who attacked Medina and forced them to retreat. Although the threat of the Roman army still remained, Muhammad had already sent out an army and when he died, Abu Bakr took over. With fierce determination he said â€Å"I shall send Usama’s army on its way as ordered by the Prophet, even if I am left alone. † Throughout the rule of Abu Bakr, troops went from one victory to another from attacking Romans. Another contribution of the Caliph was that he encouraged many of Muhammad’s friends to commit his teachings to memory. Memories all of which were written down to form the Qu’ran. All together without his leadership; the people of Islamic faith would have gone riot. He helped restore stability to the Islamic people. On top of this, he contributed to the writing of the Qu’ran and the keeping of the people safe with all his military forces. During the Caliphate of Abu Bakr, ‘Umar was his closest assistant and adviser. When Abu Bakr died on the 23rd of August 643 A. C, all the people of Medina swore allegiance to ‘Umar who became the second Caliph. Upon taking charge ‘Uman spoke to the people with conviction and said â€Å"O people, remain conscious of God, forgive me my faults and help me in my task. Assist me in enforcing what is good and forbidding what is evil. Advise me regarding the obligations that have been imposed upon me by God†¦ † ‘Umar did exactly that. He enforced the good and forbade evil. Within the first years of his leadership he completed Islam’s conquest of Mesopotamia, Syria, Egypt and Persia. During ‘Umar’s Caliphate, he was majorly responsible for the vast expansion of Islam and was considered a highly effective military leader. He also commanded the construction of the Mosque, also know as the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. When ‘Umar returned to Medina from Hajj he raised his hands and prayed, â€Å"O God! I am advanced in years, my bones are weary, my powers are declining, and the people for whom I am responsible have spread far and wide. Summon me back to Thyself, my lord! † Before his death, ‘Umar went to a Mosque to lead in prayer where he was attacked and stabbed several time and fell under the assassins dagger. Before he died, the people asked him to nominate his successor. Umar appointed a committee of the Prophets followers to appoint the leader among themselves. ‘Umar died in the first week of Muharram, 24 A and Uthman was appointed as his successor. Uthman became the Third Rightly Guided Caliph in 644 A. C. From all the Caliphs he was the one more interest in religion than politics. During his Caliphate he completed the compilation of the Qur’an that still remains till today. Uthman ruled for twelve years, the first six years were marked to have been filled with peace and tranquility. The second half of his rule took a brutal turn. Rebellion rose, the Jews and the Magians were taking advantage of the whispers that were passing among the people and began conspiring against Uthman. Although with the size of his army he could have stopped all of them, he remembered the words of Muhammad, â€Å"Once the sword is unsheathed among my followers, it will not be sheathed until the Last Day. † Uthman didn’t want to be the first of the Caliphs to spill the blood of Muslims, so instead he tried to reason with them. This hardly did him any good and after a long battle the rebels broke into his home and murdered him. The last words Uthman spoke were that of the Qur’an 2:137, which speaks of God being all hearing and all knowing. He took his last breath on the Friday afternoon of June 656 A. C Ali, the cousin of the Prophet Muhammad himself was the final Caliph. At first he was very much reluctant to take the position but after he was urged by the other companions of the Prophet he accepted. Ali was responsible for the tradition of scholarship, although he too was assassinated. During his Caliphate internal tensions in the Muslim communities came to surface which lead to a period of civil war and political conflicts which ultimately led to the split in Muslims allegiances. This now known as the Sunni and Shi’ite schism. The differences between Sunni and Shi’ia Muslims are not in the written word, but rather they have political differences centred around who should be recognised as the leader of the Muslim community. The Sunni’s make up an estimate of 90% of Muslims in the world today and they believe that the leader of Muslims should be chosen among the descendants of the tribe of Muhammad, the Quraish tribe but not necessarily from the family of Muhammad. The world ‘Sunni’ itself mean tradition and in turn means that they support the Caliphate of all the Four Rightly Guided Caliphs. The Shi’ites on the other hand only make up 10% of the Muslim population and the word Shi’ite means ‘the party of Ali’ and they believe that the leader of the Muslim community must be a descendent of the Prophet Muhammad, the official term of a blood relative being ‘Imam’. This meaning out of all the Caliphs they only support the rule of Ali. Every single Caliph had an important part to play in the development of Islam and many people have them to thank for their religion and faith being as strong as it is today. Each of the Four Rightly Guided Caliphs contributed to the safety and growth of Islam. Although with the split of Muslims that result of the Sunni and Shi’ite schism, everything was eventually kept under control. If conflicts do arise between the two, it will never result in another civil war as they have learnt from the past of the devastations it can cause.

How to Earn an Online MBA Degree

How to Earn an Online MBA Degree Online MBA programs are a popular choice by older adults and mid-career professionals who want to earn a degree without sacrificing their career and family life. Online ​MBA programs are also becoming a fast favorite of the younger crowd, who are looking for ways to earn a graduate degree while keeping their current employment. Many find that online MBA courses offer a flexibility that cant be found in traditional schools. If youre considering earning an online MBA, make sure you do your homework. Knowing the basics will help you make an informed decision about whether or not these programs are right for you. How Online MBA Programs Are Different From Traditional MBA Programs Distance learning and traditional MBA programs generally share a similar type of curriculum and can be considered equally difficult (depending, of course, on the particular school). Instead of spending hours in class, online MBA students are expected to dedicate their time to studying independently. Online curriculum generally consists of lectures, readings, assignments, and participation in online discussions. Some programs also offer multimedia components such as video lectures, podcasting, and video conferencing. Online MBA students from some programs are expected to physically attend a certain number of courses or workshops in order to acquire residency hours. Required tests can usually be taken with proctors in your own community. Online MBA students don’t spend less time studying than their traditional student counterparts. But, they are given the power to fit their school hours into their own schedules. Determining if an MBA Program Is Respectable This question deserves a qualified â€Å"yes.† There are two main factors in determining a business school’s respectability: accreditation and reputation. Online MBA programs that are accredited by the proper agencies should be respected by your future employers and colleagues. However, there are many unaccredited or â€Å"diploma mill† programs that give out worthless degrees. Avoid them at all costs. A school with a good reputation can also add respectability to an online MBA degree. Much like law schools, business schools receive rankings from organizations such as Business Week that can affect future employment. Online students may not be offered the same high-paying, big corporation jobs that graduates from top-ranked schools such as Wharton are. However, there are plenty of companies willing to hire MBA grads with degrees from other institutions. Reasons People Earn Their MBAOnline Online MBA students come from all walks of life. Many distance learning students are mid-career when they decide to get another degree. Older professionals with jobs and family responsibilities often find the flexibility of online programs to be a good fit. Some online students are looking for a career change but still want to maintain their current job until they get their MBA. Others are already working in business and earn their degree in order to be eligible for job promotions. How Long Do Online MBAs Take to Complete The time it takes to finish an online MBA degree varies according to the school and the specialization. Some intensive MBA programs can be finished in as few as nine months. Other programs can take up to four years. Adding specializations to a degree can take even longer. Some schools allow students greater flexibility to work at their own pace while others require that students adhere to more demanding deadlines. Cost of Earning an Online Degree One online MBA degree can​ be had for $10,000, another for $100,000. The cost of tuition varies substantially from college to college. Pricey doesn’t necessarily mean better (although some of the more expensive schools have some of the best reputations). Your employer may be willing to pay for part or all of your educational expenses, particularly if he or she thinks you’ll be sticking with the company. You may also be awarded grants, receive institutional or private scholarships, or qualify for financial aid. Advantages in Having an MBA Many online MBA graduates have used their new degrees to excel at the workplace, gain promotions, and achieve career success. Others have found that their time could have been better spent elsewhere. Those who find their degrees to be â€Å"worth it† share several traits in common: they knew they wanted to work in the business field beforehand, they chose a school with proper accreditation and a positive reputation, and their specialization was appropriate for the type of work they wanted to do. Enrolling in an online MBA program is not a decision to take lightly. Accredited programs require hard work, time, and effort. But, for the right person, an online MBA can be a great way to get a jumpstart in the world of business.

Structural Design of a Building Essays

Structural Design of a Building Essays Structural Design of a Building Essay Structural Design of a Building Essay have always been attractive characteristics to consultants and developers. In today’s fast tracked construction projects where time and schedule are of essence, these qualities become decisive in choosing the type of structure to be built. At present, Structural Steel Works, Inc. offers all of the advantages of steel as a building material at the most competitive price without sacrificing quality control. Advantages of using steel:- Superior Strength and durability. Precise measurements, perfect angles. Resistant to pest. Great protection against the worst weather conditions. Steel Components mean minimal material waste. Installation is fast and simple. Labour costs are minimal. Steel is recyclable. A cost Effective material. Structural steel building CONCRETE Reinforced concrete can be strengthened by using a number of different methods, such as -: reinforcement bars reinforcement grids reinforcement plates reinforcement fibers Concrete is very strong in compression but not in tension so these materials are there to help strengthen the concrete in tension. The term Ferro Concrete refers only to concrete that is reinforced with iron or steel. Other materials used to reinforce concrete can be organic and inorganic fibers as well as composites in different forms. The most common method of strengthening concrete is to use reinforcement bars. For a strong, ductile and durable construction the reinforcement should have the following properties: High strength High tensile strain Good bond to the concrete Thermal compatibility Durability in the concrete environment Advantages of using precast concrete:- Column-Free Long Spans With fewer columns and more usable floor space, precast, prestressed concrete provides greater freedom for space utilization. Conserves Energy Prestressed concrete components can improve the thermal storage potential of a building. It effectively conserves energy required for heating and cooling. Maintenance Free Precast concrete does not require painting and is free from corrosion. Its durability extends building life. Resists Fire Durability and fire resistance mean low insurance premiums and greater pers onnel safety. Those who investigate life cycle costing will appreciate the precast concretes excellent fire resistance characteristics. Rapid Construction precast concrete construction gets the job done sooner. The manufacturing of prestressed members and site preparation can proceed simultaneously. Early occupancy provides obvious benefits to the client. Versatility of Design Precast concrete buildings are not only functional but beautiful as well. Numerous panel configuration design possibilities are available. Structural concrete building As raw material prices differ, so does building design. During times of lower steel prices, more steel and less concrete is used, and vice versa, but both materials are typically used together. Concrete without steel reinforcement crumbles under tensile loads. Steel on its own, without composite or reinforced concrete floors, is likewise not a preferred building method. While rebar is almost always steel, it is not considered structural steel and is described separately in the rebar and reinforced concrete articles. While both steel structures and Reinforced concrete cement(R. C. C)structures have their pros and cons, the steel structures have better strength to weight ratio than RCC, and can be easily dismantled(Steel structures, which have bolted connections can also be reused to some extent after dismantling).

Effective Lesson Objectives

Effective Lesson Objectives Lesson objectives are the key element in creating effective lesson plans. The reason for this is that without stated objectives, there is no measure of whether a particular lesson plan produces the desired learning results. Therefore, time needs to be spent before creating a lesson plan by writing effective objectives. The Focus of Lesson Objectives In order to be complete and effective, objectives must include two elements: They must define what is going to be learned.They must give an indication of how that learning will be assessed. First, an objective tells students what they are going to be learning in a lesson. However, the objective does not end there. If it did, they would read like a table of contents. In order for an objective to be complete, it must give the students some idea of how their learning is going to be measured. Unless your objectives are measurable in some manner, there is no way that you can produce the evidence necessary to show that the objectives were in fact met. Anatomy of a Lesson Objective Objectives should be written as a single sentence. Many teachers like to start their objectives with a standard beginning such as: Upon completion of this lesson, the student will be able to.... Objectives must include an action verb that helps the students understand what they are going to learn and how they will be assessed. In Blooms Taxonomy, Bloom looked at verbs and how they related to learning, dividing them into six levels of thinking. These verbs are an excellent starting point for writing effective objectives. A simple learning objective that meets the criteria listed above is: Upon completion of this lesson, the student will be able to convert fahrenheit to celsius. By stating this objective from the beginning, students will understand exactly what is expected of them. Despite everything else that might be taught in the lesson, they will be able to measure their own learning if they can successfully convert fahrenheit to celsius. In addition, the objective gives the instructor an indication of how to prove that learning has taken place. The teacher should create an assessment that has the student perform temperature conversions. The results from this assessment show the teacher whether or not the students have mastered the objective. Pitfalls When Writing Objectives The main problem that teachers encounter when writing objectives is in the choosing of the verbs that they use. As previously stated, Blooms Taxonomy is a great place to find many action verbs that can be used when writing learning objectives. However, it can be tempting to use other verbs that are not part of the taxonomy such as enjoy, understand, appreciate, and like. An example of an objective written using one of these words is: Upon completion of this lesson, the student will understand why tobacco was such an important crop to the settlers in Jamestown. This objective does not work for a couple of reasons. The word understand leaves a lot open to interpretation. There were a number of reasons why tobacco was important to the settlers at Jamestown. Which one should they understand? What if historians disagree about the importance of tobacco? Obviously, because there is a lot of room for interpretation, students do not have a clear picture of what they are expected to have learned by the end of the lesson. Second, the method for measuring learning is not clear at all. While you might have an essay or other form of assessment in mind, the student is not given insight into how their understanding will be measured. Instead, this objective would be much clearer if it was written as follows: Upon completion of this lesson, the student will be able to explain the impact that tobacco had on the settlers at Jamestown. Upon reading this objective, students know that they are going to be learning about not only the impact that tobacco had on the colony, but they are also going to have to explain that impact in some manner. Writing objectives is not meant to be a form of torture for teachers, but instead, it is a blueprint for success for both teachers and students. Create your objectives first, and many questions that need to be answered about your lesson will fall into place.

Today and the Futures Telecommunications Business Trends Research Paper

Today and the Futures Telecommunications Business Trends - Research Paper Example The expansion of wireless internet in the form of WiMax and WiFi with high speed data access has opened booming business trends in telecommunication industry. According to the Office of the Federal Register (27), Telecommunication offers its incredible service in the areas of forecasting, disaster recovery management etc through the introduction of a variety of new devices. The innovative device technology of mobile phones has brought revolutionary changes in the telecommunication business trends. For instance, the low cost availability of mobile phones with prominent features such as dual sim is widely appreciated and accepted. To be more specific, the internet and its applications would bring vital modifications to the telecommunication sector and would drive innovative business trends with its flexibility and cost-effectiveness (Telecom Futures). With regard to future trends, in addition to the present multimedia 2G and 3G systems, 4G and 5G systems would enhance the internet faci lities and improve the access to global markets in near future. The satellites with its extreme applications offer wide access to a number of services in developing telecommunication field.

Comparison between the classic lectures and the small group discussion Essay

Comparison between the classic lectures and the small group discussion for fifth -six th year students -college of medicine,Taif - Essay Example One of the recent developments found in the identification of different modes of teaching is the small group discussion technique. It has been put to practical use and has been providing some radical changes about the perspective that students had about teaching. However, there are certain dark areas about this method of teaching that are still needed to be put as questions to extract measurable answers. In order to identify whether this new approach will provide results in the long run, an analysis survey among the students is planned to take place. Based on the survey results, a decision could be brought out on whether this new method could eventually and completely replace the classic approach. This paper aims at determining those survey questions that are to be asked to the students of the Taif University. A general survey methodology which involves a comparison of two methods needs to identify pros and cons of each method and provide an accumulative result to the surveyor. Later , the surveyor could weigh the accumulated results of both the methods and can provide the results that either state which method is better or propose changes that could improve the aspects of the second coming method. Hence, it is critically important to determine the questions to be asked in the survey. The nature of the questions should be practical, argumentative and direct to the point. (Fowler 1995) Questions related with Classical Lecture method Classical Lecture Method has its advantages and disadvantages. Advantages Lecture method allows for a direct and logical interpretation of the facts and procedures. They provide an opportunity for the students to directly understand the concepts and techniques that are proven over the years. (Monroe 1915) Lecture method allows students to experience the concepts as and when they hear about it, through the speech of the lecturer. It allows them to easily grasp the concepts which they would have had a hard time to understand. Lecture me thod gives an equal opportunity for all of the students to get to know about the information that is explained. As far as this method goes, all students get equal information, provided if they all are attentive.(Hghert 1981) The ability of the lecturer plays a bigger part. Analysis, comparison and examples related to the lecture topic always enhance the studying interest of the listener. In addition, with the presence of a lecturer, there is always a guiding force for the students to look forward.(Lieberman 2004) Disadvantages The ability of the lecturer could act as a disadvantage too. If the lecturer does not have good oral communication skills, then he or she may falter in sending the right message to the listeners. Most often, there is no direct involvement of the listeners in any lecture, unless requested. This often creates a passive environment and many a times the lecturers’ fail to recognize whether the listeners are mentally involved in the session or not. (Donald 2 000) Because communication in these lectures is most often in one way mode, there is high percentage of difficulty that could arise in understanding tedious subjects, irrespective of the number of virtual presentations that the lecturers could provide. (Bassey 1968) Another problem that could arise is that all listeners cannot cope up with the pace of the lecturer and understand at the same speed. Some may be slow in understanding the concepts whereas

Individual Employment Law Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Individual Employment Law - Case Study Example Several matters need to be taken into consideration regarding your current situation with filing an injunction against Brett your sales and marketing director. Employment law protects Brett as well as you so I advise you to carefully pursue the issue. Fraser Younson was quoted in the September 2 issue of Lawyers Weekly Magazine in an article about the rise in claims by employees against their firms, a relatively new issue in the British legal profession. Unfair or wrongful dismissal claims occur when firms to do follow the correct procedure made mandatory in legislation on October 1, 2004. "In some firms in particular, partners need to understand that they need to coach employees on an on-going basis, not just mention their shortcomings at appraisals," (Younsun) The major issue you have at hand is a no compete contract where the contract was an oral agreement. An oral agreement is legal and binding as long as consideration was present. In the case of consideration and your verbal agreement with Brett consideration was present but there are other matters at hand that must be taken into consideration. One of them is the time factor. As the agreement between Brett and yourself was never formally written up a date and the time limit on the agreement are difficult to determine at this time. The proof of the time is difficult to prove at this point. McDermott was recommended in Legal 500 Eur... egration following the acquisitions of two German companies, a varied and challenging mandate which required negotiations with trade unions and group works council on a mass redundancy program, and the establishment of a European works council." (Anthony) Essentially you had a no compete oral contract with Brett. Legal for such a contract should read: (a) Company Information. The Company will make available to the Independent Contractor certain Confidential Information of the Company, previously non-disclosed to him or her, which will enable him or her to optimize the performance of his or her duties to the Company. In exchange, the Independent Contractor agrees to use such Confidential Information solely for the Company's benefit. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, the Independent Contractor agrees that upon the expiration or termination of the Agreement, the Company shall have no obligation to provide or otherwise make available to the Independent Contractor any of its Confidential Information. "Confidential Information" means any Company proprietary information, technical data, trade secrets or know-how, including, but not limited to, research, product plans, products, services, customer lists and customers (including, but not limited to, customers of the Company on whom the Independent Contractor called or with whom her o r she became acquainted during the term of the contract), markets, software, developments, inventions, processes, formulas, technology, designs, drawings, engineering, hardware configuration information, marketing, finances or other business information disclosed to the Independent Contractor by the Company either directly or indirectly in writing, orally or by drawings or observation of parts or equipment. Confidential Information

Recent Case in ICT area where UK or EU regulators have intervened Essay

Recent Case in ICT area where UK or EU regulators have intervened - Essay Example osal was to replace its existing three free to air channels with a line up of premium channels that would be available using a new specification digital-terrestrial set-top box (Lee, 2007). Ofcom was however reluctant to allow Sky TV the license and regulatory approval it was seeking to achieve the above stated objective and permit a change in its licensing terms. In response to Sky TV’s application for the change in its licensing terms, the UK regulator Ofcom pointed out that if such a license was allowed to Sky TV, it could squeeze out smaller competitors such as Setanta and BT Vision. It offered the view that the granting of such a license would require a much more broad based investigation into the entire pay-TV market, which would also take into account, issues raised by Sky TV in promoting its proposal, as well as other factors in the external environment that could be detrimental to the market in general (Prosser, 2008). The major advantage that Sky has projected in its proposal is the greater choice that consumers would be able to have in their viewing choices, thereby giving rise to a superior quality and level of TV service. The broadcaster was already in a plum position, because it had the first right to broadcast Hollywood movies and most premium sporting events (Lane, 2010). The opposition offered to its proposals to conve rt freeview into paid for TV came from its rivals such as Setanta and Top-up TV, who contended that Sky was already in a dominant position in the market and granting such permission and license to the company would turn it into a monopoly that would inhibit free and fair competition in the marketplace. The investigation and negotiations have continued over a long period of three years and appear to have finally concluded in a compromised solution. i.e, Sky would be required to offer its premium sports channels to other TV stations offering pay-per-view packages, but in return would allow Sky to gain access to some of the

Arab Societies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Arab Societies - Essay Example Meanwhile, the former inhabitants of the land purchased by the oil-rich citizens are left to migrate to urban areas leaving their agricultural livelihood to be bulldozed into the ground as the new foundation of an eagerly anticipated tourist destination. These migrants eventually get employed in a job that does not offer them enough income to live comfortably. This is the picture of how most Arabs live in the Middle East as painted by the authors of the assigned readings. The unfortunate thing is that only 5% of the Arab people are living in luxury while the rest live within middle-class to lower-class means. The consequence of the rural-urban migration of people is leaving agricultural lands barren without anyone to tend to producing crops or raising livestock for people’s food. Kadri reports that exportation of food has significantly decreased and importation has been on a steady rise. Hence, malnutrition among Arab nations has also spread. What is the government doing about this â€Å"rich getting richer† and the â€Å"poor getting poorer† situation? Since huge investments on land and real-estate would need the appropriate permits and authorization to operate, with the authority coming from the government, it may be expected that people in government gain much from the investors and inevitably approve of their investments. Mitchell has described such leniency from government as neoliberalism. It may be overwhelming to witness vast lands being turned to â€Å"dreamland† while the economy suffers and the majority of the population live in poverty. One may question where most of the revenue from taxes of such luxurious investments go. Certainly not to programs that will uplift the standard of living of middle to low classed citizens! Government priorities have been lopsided, favouring the projects of the rich over the service of the poor. This may be due to the personal agendas of those in power. Farsoun laments how Arab state capitalism

Strategic management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Strategic management - Essay Example This is because every finite extensive form game contains at least a sub-game perfect equilibrium. For example, by applying backward induction it can be proved that the strategy combination comprising of the Nash-equilibrium contours of all sub-games is apparently sub-game perfect. c) Yes, after iterated elimination of dominated strategies in two player games and only one strategy survives, then the strategy combination must be a Nash-equilibrium. This is because the strategies match up to rationalizable strategies. Indeed, no pure strategy that is persistently strongly dominated can comprise of a Nash-equilibrium. Non-recursively weakly dominated strategies can comprise of a Nash-equilibrium and so the iterated elimination may remove one or more Nash equilibria. It can then be shown that one Nash-equilibrium will survive the iterated elimination of weakly dominated strategies. Question two a) Extensive form of the game Rating profits on a scale of 100 for best, payoff for the incumb ent are 100 if the entrant fails to enter, 50 if he enters and shares the market and 0 if he enters and the incumbent starts a price war. The entrant payoffs are 0 if he does not enter, 40 (profit – entry cost) if he enters and -10 if there is a price war. The game can be presented in an extensive form as illustrated below: War (-10, 0) Enter No (40, 50) No (0, 100) In the figure, the entrant’s choice is indicated at node 1 and the incumbent’s choice is indicated at node 2. The numbers at the right side indicates the payoffs with entrant’s payoff first. Therefore, the entrant will need to think strategically or to anticipate how the incumbent responds if he decides to enter. Normal form of the game In normal form of the game incumbent strategies are contingent strategies: If the entrant enters then accommodate and if he enters then initiate price war. The entrant’s strategies are enter and do not enter. The game in normal form is indicated below: I ncumbent If the entrant enters, then accommodate: if the entrant does not enter, continue with the usual business If the entrant enters, then initiate prices war; if the entrant does not enter continues with the usual business. Entrant Enter 40, 50 -10, 0 Do not 0,100 0,100 b) Pure strategy Nash equilibrium Incumbent If the entrant enters, then accommodate: if the entrant does not enter, continue with the usual business If the entrant enters, then initiate prices war; if the entrant does not enter continues with the usual business. Entrant Enter 40, 50 -10, 0 Do not 0,100 0,100 Enter and accommodate is a pure-strategy Nash equilibrium. c) The sub-game perfect outcome is the Nash equilibrium in the simultaneous move game, which is (no entry, business as usual). Question three Due to Nash equilibrium, pricing strategies that appear to be super-competitive can in fact be anticompetitive. The market strategies for all players respond to the Nash equilibrium. This is best explained by an example. Suppose that the monopoly price for gaming consoles is $200. Now suppose firm A advertises that if a consumer buys a console from him at $200 and discovers that he/she can buy it cheaper at B, A will refund the full purchase price. Again suppose that B does the same thing. It can then be shown that it is Nash for both firms to charge $200. Question four Glaxo and EMI developed important innovations in the 70s, but succeeded

Arab Societies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Arab Societies - Essay Example Meanwhile, the former inhabitants of the land purchased by the oil-rich citizens are left to migrate to urban areas leaving their agricultural livelihood to be bulldozed into the ground as the new foundation of an eagerly anticipated tourist destination. These migrants eventually get employed in a job that does not offer them enough income to live comfortably. This is the picture of how most Arabs live in the Middle East as painted by the authors of the assigned readings. The unfortunate thing is that only 5% of the Arab people are living in luxury while the rest live within middle-class to lower-class means. The consequence of the rural-urban migration of people is leaving agricultural lands barren without anyone to tend to producing crops or raising livestock for people’s food. Kadri reports that exportation of food has significantly decreased and importation has been on a steady rise. Hence, malnutrition among Arab nations has also spread. What is the government doing about this â€Å"rich getting richer† and the â€Å"poor getting poorer† situation? Since huge investments on land and real-estate would need the appropriate permits and authorization to operate, with the authority coming from the government, it may be expected that people in government gain much from the investors and inevitably approve of their investments. Mitchell has described such leniency from government as neoliberalism. It may be overwhelming to witness vast lands being turned to â€Å"dreamland† while the economy suffers and the majority of the population live in poverty. One may question where most of the revenue from taxes of such luxurious investments go. Certainly not to programs that will uplift the standard of living of middle to low classed citizens! Government priorities have been lopsided, favouring the projects of the rich over the service of the poor. This may be due to the personal agendas of those in power. Farsoun laments how Arab state capitalism

DELL SWOTT TABLE Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

DELL SWOTT TABLE - Assignment Example The business macro environment describes factors like competition, clients, industries, market, companies and even clients. In the past Dell, unlike most of its competitors, has not made any significant accomplishments in the smartphone technology and business. Resultantly, this has led to a lot of criticism for the past decade with most people questioning its proficiency even in its core field, which is computer technology. In 2009, Dell launched its first ever smartphone that most of its supporters, consumers and other stakeholders had been waiting for with a lot of fanaticism, which is understandable considering its reputation in computer technology (Holman, 2005). The Mini 3i was among the biggest disappointments of the company as most of the reviews termed it as an attempt. The most disappointing thing was the location of the launch as the Chinese got the first experience being the aim market for Dell; evidently, this itself was substandard for the people in the west. This development has meant that the company conducts an analysis of its environment in order to determined the right approaches and strategies it can use in its marketing and other important functions towards it operations (Holman, 2005). It is important to realize that business environment analysis is an important process that happens for all businesses that want to create competitive advantages in their business operations. The internal business environment contains factors that the business can manipulate in the process of creating its competitive advantages (Arthur, 2012). These factors make up the strengths and weaknesses for a business when analyzing its SWOT. Some of the important factors in Dell computer’s internal business environment include the following With regard to strategy, the company relies on various approaches in its market entry requirements. The company has managed to put up a team that conducts

Relationship Between the Heritage Site and the Community

Relationship Between the Heritage Site and the Community This essay critically discusses the relationship between heritage and community, collecting and making reference to a wide range of writing and theorizing on heritage and its management. As Lowenthal (1995) argues in his book The Past is a Foreign Country, the past is an ever-changing phenomenon, which is not constant due to the way in which the past is translated to us and how we, as individuals, intepret our past, with each individual having a different version, a different interpretation, of a common past. ‘The past’ is a heritage, which, argues Lowenthal (1995) is at once burdensome and nurturing, open as it is to various interpretations and various uses. The past is essential, and inescapable, and can be as innocent as one’s memories as captured in photographs or can be manipulated as witnessed by the Holcaust deniers. It is this changing nature of ‘the past’, or ‘heritage’ that simultaneously sustains and constrains us (Lowenthal, 1995). The past is, argues Lowenthal (1995), an increasingly more foreign country, that is distinct from the present but which is increasingly manipulated by present-day aims. It is necess ary to preserve the past to avoid ‘cultural amnesia’ but a cult of nostalgia can also choke and dampen progress, and so dealing with ‘heritage’ is a delicate matter. ‘Heritage’ and its management, in terms of community, is therefore a complex matter that generates tensions and conflicts. Chitty and Baker (1999) look at how historic sites and buildings are managed and show that preservation and presentation are central activities in the historic environment but that, often, these activities can be antagonistic to each other. This antagonism arises because of the different economic, social, cultural and educational perspectives taken by the different bodies involved in preserving and presenting historic sites and buildings. For example, those in charge of public entry to the historic site or building are interested that the site or building be open for as long as possible to as many people as possible, so that the revenue is as high as possible. Those involved in preservation of the historic site or building, for example, are interested not in the entry of visitors to the site, as a primary concern, but rather that they have the space, temporal and physical, to perform the necessary conservation duties to preserve the site or building for future generations, in a sympa thetic manner. Several case studies are discussed in Chitty and Baker (1999) including Avebury, Hadrian’s Wall, Norton Friary, Brodsworth Hall and various sites of interest for industrial heritage and in terms of military heritage, many of which are promoted as sites of heritage tourism (Timothy and Boyd, 2003). As Baker states in the introduction to Chitty and Baker (1999), sympathetic reconstruction and conservation is fundamental for preserving the authenticity of historic sites and buildings. As her argues, Avebury as it is currently encountered is largely a 1930’s reconstruction and not how Avebury was constructed originally. It is perhaps the case that many visitors do not realize that the current structure is not how it would have appeared when originally built, but many of those same visitors still take a great deal away from their visits to Avebury. This presents a dilemma for the managers of the site, the National Trust, who have to decide whether to preserve the Avebury as it is, complete with 1930’s modifications, or whether to change the site back to how historical records show it was when originally constructed. This dilemma illustrates the dilemma facing all managers of historic sites and buildings: the management of these sites is dependent on visitor numbers, as ‘heritage’ is a business nowadays, which is as dependent on revenue as any other business. Preservation of historic sites and buildings therefore needs to take place within the confines of dealing with visitors who want to be able to freely move about a site or building that they have paid to enter, for example. As Baker argues in Chitty and Baker (1999), the meaning and historical perspectives of buildings and sites can also be lost or mistranslated in the effort to maintain these sites and buildings within the context of generating revenue: the holistic view of the historic remains can be lost as individual stories and narratives are generated. For example, across Derbyshire, there are many historic sites from many different ages. In a few square miles, there is Bolsover Castle, Langwith Pit, with the last remaining working pit head in the area, Sutton Mill, which is a fully working water mill, Hardwick Hall, of Bess of Hardwick fame with the largest glass faà §ade in the UK: all of these sites ‘compete’ for revenue from visitors, but, as a whole, do not explain the continuity of, or the development of, the history of the area. In the effort to collect revenue from visitors, the history of the area as a whole has been lost to the general public, it’s holistic history h as been waylaid. Local history is not taught in schools in the area and so children grow up in the area often unable to afford to enter the historic sites, or with parents who do not encourage visits to the historic sites, and so never learn about their local history. They become dis-jointed from their local history. Heritage and community thus has no meaning for these individuals, and, as a whole, the community tends to come to view the historic sites not as their heritage but rather as visitor attractions that they cannot afford to visit and do not understand, as they have no connection to the sites or buildings, other than knowing that they are commercial activities and that ‘something’ happened there. This is a very modern tragedy, that heritage and community have become disjointed, that even when people do visit sites and buildings of historic interest that their experience is an isolated one, not ‘joined up’ to other historical sites of interest and thus not giving a holistic viewpoint of local history, or how this local history connects to larger UK history, for example. Preservation of historic sites and buildings is more than simply conserving those sites for the future, it also comes to include the preservation of the memories and history of those sites, a goal of communication. Presentation therefore overlaps with preservation, in terms of communicating to the visitors. Grenville (1999) looks at the rapid changes that are taking place in countryside management and their effect on the cultural landscape, in terms of the conflict that this process generates between archaeologists and ecologists, and looks at many case studies such as the management of archaeological landscapes on army training grounds, the management of ancient woodlands and the conservation of monuments in Norfolk. As Grenville (1999) states in the introduction, the identification of natural areas of significance by bodies such as English Nature separates out the significance of these areas from the possibilities of whole landscape evaluation, in a manner similar to that described by Baker in Chitty and Baker (1999): the holistic understanding of the whole landscape is lost, and whilst ‘Site Wildlife Statements’ are made about these areas of significance, managers of these sites are presented with problems when the views and needs of archaeologists, ecologists and visito r satisfaction all need to be considered. An example of this comes from Thornton Abbey in Lincolnshire: badgers were slowly destroying the archaeological remains at the site and the public and the resident ecologists were adamant that the badgers should be allowed to go about their business; the manager of the site eventually decided the badgers should be moved on, but the event caused a great deal of consternation amongst the archaeological community (Grenville, 1999). Howard (2003) looks at heritage management, its interpretation and identity, and finds that heritage has become a major concern around the world, particularly in the UK which relies heavily on tourism to heritage sites to keep these sites open and functioning, now that the majority of heritage sites in the UK are under the control of bodies which run them as a revenue-generating exercise. Howard (2003) points out, similarly to Chitty and Baker (1999) and Grenville (1999) that because most heritage sites are now run as a revenue-generators, there is conflict between preservation, conservation and management as to how these sites should be run, managed and interpreted. As Howard (2003) argues, however, the term ‘heritage’ nowadays means anything and everything the public want to save, from historic buildings to morris dancing to material culture and nature. As Howard (2003) argues, therefore, due to the heterogeneous nature of the ‘heritage’ that people want t o save, the management and interpretation of this ‘heritage’ is extremely complicated and needs many different approaches, especially as ‘heritage’ can take on a nationalistic component which has entirely negative repercussions, for as Howard (2003) states, â€Å"so long as heritage can be used for profit, or to produce group identity, or to subjugate or exclude someone else, then someone is going to use it†. Heritage, according to Howard (2003) is related to the concept of inheritance, in terms of meaning ‘that which has been, or may be, inherited’, and is also related to the idea of something that should not be forgotten, for example, the Holocaust heritage. Heritage also defines identity so that heritage has a contingent nature. That there are so many definitions of heritage, and that historic buildings and sites are bracketed together and understood in terms of ‘heritage’ is perhaps what leads to some of the tensions apparent between workers of different disciplines, when approaching a historical site or building. Everyone feels they have a claim on the site or building, in terms of common heritage, and they feel a responsibility to defend their heritage from the viewpoint of their different disciplines (i.e., ecologist/archaeologist/manager). This obviously then leads to tension as their viewpoints, whilst stemming from the same common concern, differ widely and have different effects and needs. ‘Heritage’, whilst a term that can be used to easily describe something that should be preserved, is a term that complicates the practical preservation of that site or building, especially as heritage marketing is something that is being used for consumer-led revenue-generation (Howard, 2003). Managing ‘heritage’ ‘for the community’ are the phrases of the moment, with the label ‘heritage’ being given to many things from historic sites and buildings to dances and religious/political ceremonies. Heritage is thus a flexible, little understood, term, that is, in Lowenthal’s (1995) sense, open to many and varied interpretations. In this context, then, managing heritage for the community is a difficult matter, which causes many tensions, between the various people responsible for managing ‘heritage’ and between these people and the community in which the ‘heritage’ is situated. Heritage and community are thus fuelled with tension and conflicts and the usefulness of the term ‘heritage’ as a political descriptor of our collective history, packaged in to revenue-generating pieces, is called in to question. References Howard P (2003) Heritage Management, Interpretation and Identity, London: Continuum. Lowenthal D (1995) The Past is a Foreign Country, Cambridge: University Press. Timothy DJ Boyd S W (2003) Heritage Tourism, Harlow: Prentice Hall. Grenville J (1999) Managing the Historic Rural Landscape, London: Routledge. Chitty G Baker D (1999) Managing Historic Sites Buildings, London: Routledge.

After Various Writings By Rich :: essays research papers

After various writings by Richard Rodriguez and Octavio Paz, I have come across several realizations. Who am I? Should I be a part of a nation and a â€Å"system† that does not value me, or should I be a part of a nation that does not acknowledge my existence? The United States as a nation does not value me, and Mà ©xico does not even know that I exist. These are difficult matters to discuss. We are all in search of our own identity. However, some of us are placed in a situation that makes it very difficult and confusing to know or understand. I have always asked myself, â€Å"Who am I?† I should put it in more crude words, â€Å"Where do I belong?† After this specific question is asked, I begin to realize that I have problems coming up with a response. My parents were born in Mà ©xico, and thus, they are Mexican. Sometimes I feel I belong here in the United States, but other times I feel more attached to Mà ©xico. I am a Mexican-American. However, I feel that I am denying in some way my heritage and my culture by saying that I am. I am denying my parents. I say that I’m Mexican because in a sense I am. I am also an American. I am a Mexican-American. What do these terms put together imply? They should imply that the person is Mexican and American. The term â€Å"Mexican-American† is the very reason why I find myself confused about who I really am. I need to search for my own identity, which leads me to the purpose of this essay. Rodriguez and Paz have discussed this particular problem of identity. All three have different viewpoints. Some of their ideas are similar but mostly contradictory, especially in the case of Rodriguez and Paz. As I was reading, I was able to relate to what they had to say, and in a much bigger sense, I was able to understand and know who I am. I was able to find my self.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  According to Paz, self-discovery is most than anything realizing that we are alone. Paz argues that our being or our identity becomes a problem and a question. It becomes a problem because of several reasons. We just don’t simply wake up one day and realize that we don’t know who we are. There are individuals who are placed in difficult situations that allow for these questions to arise.

Rosa Parks :: essays research papers

Rosa Parks Rosa parks was born on February 4,1913, in Tuskegee, Alabama. She was a civil rights leader. She attended Alabama State College, worked as a seamstress and as a housekeeper. Her father, James McCauley, was a carpenter, and her mother, Leona (Edward's) McCauley was a teacher. Rosa P. had one younger brother named, Sylvester. Her family lived in Tuskegee. When Rosa was two years-old her parents split up and she, her mother, and her brother moved to her grandparents farm in Nearby Pine Level, Alabama. Her grandparents were one of the few black families who owned their own land, rather than work for someone else. Although they were poor, they were able to raise enough food for all. During the first half of this century for all blacks living in America skin color affected every part of their lives. The South in particular was very racist. Slavery had been abolished only by some fifty years earlier, and blacks were still hated and were feared by whites because of skin color. Jim Crow had a law "separate but equal." The Supreme Court ruled in 1896, that equal protection could not mean separate but equal facilities. Blacks were made to feel inferior to whites in every way. They were restricted in their choices of housing and jobs, were forced to attend segregated schools, and were prohibited from using many restaurants, movie theaters. Rosa Parks said, years later, "Whites would accuse you of causing trouble when all of you were doing was acting like a normal human being, instead of crining. You didn't have to wait for a lynching. You died each time you found yourself face to face with this kind of discrimination." Rosa Parks didn't like attending a poor, one-room school, with few books or supplies, not being able to stop on her way home from school to get a soda or a candybar. She hated how they were parts for blacks like restaurants, trains, and bus and even being forced to give up her seat for a white person. Rosa's mother, Leona McCau ley, worked as a teacher, and the whole family knew the value of education. Rosa attended the local black elementary school, where her mother was the only teacher. When she graduated, the family worked hard to save enough money to send her to a private school for black girls. At the age of 11 she began to attend Montgomery Industrial School for Girls.

Why Does Bartleby Refuse the Aid of the Lawyer?

Herman Melville’s Bartleby the Scrivener is a confusing work of literature. Some researchers think that in the story Melville described himself. Some others think that this is because of madness that Bartleby behaves so weird and finally, dies. In reality, Bartleby refuses to check some copies, but that cannot mean he is mad.On the contrary, he chooses this himself. He chooses how to live his life and how to behave. Many people think his life is utopian. Many people also cannot understand why he behaves this way. Melville tries to prove that Bartleby has his principles and cannot betray them.That is why he refuses to accept aid from the Lawyer because he thinks that this aid will destroy his principles and his life. Of course, every person has his principles, and that does not mean that every person is mad. On the contrary, people who have their principles cannot be mad. They are reasonable and conscious, even when their ideas seem to be utopian. â€Å"The utopian spirit as w e have been discussing it, is revealed through the written words of men who were critical of the world they lived in and dreamers of a better world† (Anonymous). And Bartleby, too, sees the world with a critical eye.On the one hand, he does not want to accept this world as he sees it. On the other hand and because he cannot accept this world as he sees it, he also creates his own world. This world is very comfortable to him, and Bartleby does not want anyone to interfere. â€Å"His face was leanly composed; his gray eye dimly calm. Not a wrinkle of agitation rippled him. Had there been the least uneasiness, anger, impatience or impertinence in his manner; in other words, had there been any thing ordinarily human about him, doubtless I should have violently dismissed him from the premises† (Melville).Melville describes Bartleby as a very calm and balanced person. When he refuses to check the copies he does not show that is he worried or disturbed. He sees that the Lawyer is getting very angry and disturbed. He also sees that the Lawyer is becoming very irritated. If Bartleby were insane, he would not be able to preserve balance and calmness. If he were insane he would be more emotional with the Lawyer. Moreover, he is very confident that his principles of life are very correct. If he were not that confident, he would not make the Lawyer so much curious about himself.He would not be able to be so calm and to defend his principles. When he answers the Lawyer’s questions he does not lose his patience, because he knows that his principles are the best and that he has the right to use these principles in his life. He also knows that the Lawyer cannot break these principles. When he defends them he seems solid like a stone. But he also fears of losing these principles and his stability. That is why he does not want to answer the Lawyer’s questions: â€Å"Will you tell me, Bartleby, where you were born?– I would prefer not to. â€⠀œ Will you tell me anything about yourself? – I would prefer not to† (Melville). It is very probable that Bartleby has his own theory of life. He knows that the Lawyer wants to help him, but he also knows that if he accepts this aid, he will not be able to live as he lived before. He will not be able to protect his principles from the Lawyer. The story about Bartleby shows how difficult it is for a person to be successful. It is a material world. It values farms, goods, estates, and other material things.Unfortunately, â€Å"the ways of trade are grown selfish to the borders of theft, and supple to the borders of fraud. The employments of commerce are not intrinsically unfit for a man, or less genial to his faculties, but these are now in their general course so vitiated by derelictions and abuses at which all connive, [†¦] that nothing is left him but to begin the world anew†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Emerson). That is why to avoid these problems Bartleby creates his own wo rld. In this world he has no obligations. He can do what he wants. He can refuse checking the copies. He can refuse working.He can also refuse leaving the office. This world is very different from the one in which we live. Still, this is the world in which Bartleby wants to live. Bartleby does not have a house; he does not speak about his past; he does not speak of anything at all and spends all his time at the Lawyer’s office at Wall Street. One day he refuses to fulfill his working obligations. He is not willing to leave the office; nor is he willing to leave the Lawyer. Unfortunately, no one can understand Bartleby. Everyone thinks he is insane. For this reason, he becomes a vagrant and soon dies.But what can happen if some day Bartleby decided not to refuse the Lawyer’s aid? Would this aid help Bartleby return to the normal world? No, it would not, but would make it more difficult for Bartleby to defend his principles. If he accepted the aid, he would also have to accept all other norms of the modern world. However, because Bartleby is so active and brave in his wish to protect his principles and his life, he influences and changes everyone around him: â€Å"Somehow, of late I had got into the way of involuntary using this word ‘prefer’ upon all sorts of not exactly suitable occasions.And I trembled to think that my contact with the scrivener had already and seriously affected me in a mental way† (Melville). That is why Bartleby’s behavior is not because of his madness but because of his strength and power, which he uses to live. When he refuses the Lawyer’s aid he also builds a wall between himself and the rest of the world. He does not want the Lawyer to become a part of his world. He is an idealist. His world is utopian.Many of us would want to live the life in the same way, but not all of us would be able to protect their principles from influence. Conclusion Herman Melville’s Bartleby the Scrivene r is one of the most confusing works of literature. On the one hand, readers cannot understand who Bartleby is, who he was, and who he wants to be. On the other hand, everything we read about Bartleby looks like the story about a mad man. In reality, it is not madness, and Bartleby himself chose his life and his principles.Moreover, he wants to protect his life and his principles from anyone’s influence. That is why he refuses to accept the Lawyer’s aid, because he is afraid that the aid will destroy his principles, his life, and the world he has created for himself. Works Cited Anonymous. â€Å"About Utopia and Utopian Literature. † Emerson, R. W. â€Å"Man the Reformer. † A Lecture Read Before the Mechanics’ Apprentices’ Library Association, Boston, January 25, 1841. Melville, H. â€Å"Bartleby the Scrivener: A Story of Wall-Street. † Virginia Commonwealth University, 1853.

Radon Gas Case Study Essay

OBJECTIVE: Build a simple ionization chamber that is capable of detecting fairly low levels of radiation BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY Radon is a cancer-causing gas. It comes from the natural breakdown of uranium in soil, rock and water and gets into the air you breathe. These radioactive materials â€Å"decay† into lighter elements, emitting energetic sub-atomic particles in the process, and one of those lighter elements is Radon. Since radon is a noble gas, it is chemically inert and doesn’t stay bound in the solid the way it’s parent did. It diffuses right through solids and ends up floating freely in the air. Being a noble gas, radon is fairly harmless, itself. You breathe in some radon with every breath but then you breathe it right back out, since it isn’t chemically active or electrically charged. But radon has a short half-life of only about four days, meaning that about half of it will decay within four days, producing new, even lighter radioactive isotopes of other elements like polonium, lead, and bismuth. Those isotopes keep decaying, until a stable isotope of lead is reached. These radon â€Å"daughters† are not noble gasses like radon, they are usually ionized when they are produced, and they will readily stick to anything nearby, like healthy lung tissue. They typically have an even shorter half-life than radon and quickly decay inside the lung, kicking out energetic alpha and beta particles that can cause tissue damage and potentially trigger lung cancer. This unfortunate chain of events is due to the decay chain including a noble gas. Radon gas is considered to be the second leading cause of lung cancer. It can get into any type of building — homes, offices, and schools — and result in a high indoor radon level. But, we are most likely to get your greatest exposure at home, where we spend most of our time. It typically moves up through the ground to the air above and into your home through cracks and other holes in the foundation. Any home traps radon inside, where it can build up. Any home may have a radon problem. This means new and old homes, well-sealed and drafty homes, and homes with or without basements. These are examples where you can find the noble gas: 1. Cracks in solid floors 2. Construction Joints 3. Cracks in walls 4. Gaps in suspended floors 5. Water supply It breaks down into solid radioactive elements called radon progeny. Radon progeny can attach to dust and other particles and can be breathed into the lungs. As radon and radon progeny in the air break down, they give off alpha particles, a form of high-energy radiation that can damage our health. Radon daughters will stick to just about anything they encounter, so they are easily collected by drawing air through a dusting cloth with an ordinary fan. After collecting the daughters for about an hour or two, the radiation being emitted from the cloth due to the further decay of the collected radioactive isotopes can be measured with a simple ionization chamber made from an empty coffee can, a single Darlington transistor, and a digital voltmeter. The deceivingly simple ion chamber is quite sensitive and can detect radon daughters in buildings with radon concentrations below the â€Å"action level† recommended by health authorities. A simple ionization chamber is nothing more than a metal can with a wire inside. When a radioactive particle passes through the air in the chamber, many of the molecules of air are ionized, having electrons knocked loose from the outer atomic shells. Applying a positive voltage on the outer can relative to the internal wire, causes these ions to be attracted to the wire and the free electrons to be attracted to the interior wall of the can. This movement of charge is a tiny current that may be amplified to detect the rate at which ions are being generated, and thereby the rate that radioactive particles are passing through the can. The chamber will be detecting mostly beta  particles. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY Copper is an essential element for all known living organisms, including humans. You need a small amount of copper in your diet to stay healthy. On average, most people will eat and drink about 1,000 micrograms ( ÃŽ ¼g) of copper per day—drinking water normally contributes approximately 150 ÃŽ ¼g per day. Levels of copper found naturally in ground water and surface water are typically very low—about 4 ÃŽ ¼g of copper in one liter (L) of water or less—however, drinking water may contain higher levels of copper, usually as a result of flowing through copper pipes. High levels of copper can occur if water that is corrosive comes in contact with copper plumbing and copper-containing fixtures. Many factors can make water corrosive for copper pipes: dissolved salts and minerals, bacteria, and suspended solids, such as sand, sediment, and rust. The level of copper in drinking water increases with the corrosivity of the water and the length of time it remains in contact with the plumbing. If the copper level gets too high, the water may have a metallic taste and you might notice blue or blue-green stains around sinks and plumbing fixtures. It will be highest in the morning because the water will have been exposed to the pipes overnight. If you are being served by a public water system, the owner of the utility will have results of  copper sampling, which is a process that has been done in parts of the water-distribution system. In this chemistry science fair project, you will investigate another possible factor in making water corrosive for copper — the pH of the water. You will test the theory that acidic water is more corrosive for copper pipes than non-acidic water. In the procedure, dingy copper pennies will be placed in either plain water or in water with acetic acid (vinegar). You may know that newly minted pennies have bright, shinny copper but over time the copper and air react and the pennies build up a layer of copper oxide on them. The copper oxide is the dull, dark coloration on well-used pennies. In this experiment, if the water is corrosive enough to strip off the copper oxide then you will see the progress of the reaction by watching the pennies go from dull and dingy to bright and shiny. The pennies get shiny because the copper oxide is being stripped off by a reaction, which results in increasing levels of copper in the liquid. Unfortunately, water that is corrosive slowly eats away at the pure copper, as well as at the copper oxide. For houses with corrosive water systems, this can result in elevated levels of copper in the drinking water. On a purely practical level, houses with corrosive water systems might find that their copper pipes are springing leaks, and that the whole house needs to be re-piped with plastic pipes! To measure the amount of copper present in the solutions that are used to clean the pennies, you will perform a color-based chemical test. The chemicals for the test are contained in a small tablet, which is dissolved in water. When the tablet is dissolved, the solution turns reddish-orange. If no copper (or very small amounts of copper) is present, the solution remains reddish-orange. If copper is present, the solution will turn blue.