A Severed Head by Iris Murdoch Essay

Iris Murdoch constructs the novel, considered widely to have ushered in the Sexual Revolution of the 60s and 70s in England, with a first person male character, Martin Lynch-Gibbon. Martin is an upper class wine merchant, and it is with him that the novel begins, as we are given a picture of him lying in bed with his younger lover, Georgie, a student at Oxford, in the bliss of a vigorous, sexually driven relationship alongside a stable and convenient marriage. However, it is soon after this, when upon returning home, that his pampered wife Antonia tells him that she has been in love with his psychoanalyst and a family friend, Palmer Anderson. They wish to continue their cordial relationship with Martin, though Antonia has decided to seek divorce and marry Palmer. Martin falls back on his relationship with Georgie Hands, though we are given a sense at this point in the story, that the vigor is no more to be found, and it is reminiscent of something like Florentino’s womanizing in an attempt to rationalize the meaning of the loss he has suffered in Marquez’ ‘Love in the Time of Cholera’. It is Fermina’s rejection that drives him into a situation of bankruptcy, and it is here too that Martin tries to keep the different pieces together, though with a sense of loss that had made his relationship with Georgie complete. This missing part is his sense of security, his marriage of convenience, and a wife that he is otherwise indifferent to, Antonia. It is also the sense of having lost her to his friend, when he had taken for granted that fact that his ‘maleness’ in his liaison with Georgie had made him something of an artifact, a severed head to be held onto by the anthropologist; A man who would not lose his wife’s attentions. As a wine merchant, he chooses whiskey as a preference, and as a Marquezian lover, misinterprets his own charm. What is to be understood is that Antonia can only be truly free when she has broken out of the construct in which she finds herself pampered, materially lack of want, but missing a sort of impulsive romanticizing that will give her otherwise mundane life an aesthetic appeal. She needs to be tested for her love, and this can only happen when another male is involved, preferable someone close to and trusted by Martin himself. Thus, the betrayal is complete. Martin refuses to acknowledge the ethical impunity involved in his affairs with college girls, and the in his brazen pursuit and courting of Honor Klien. His decision to break into her house tells us again that his impulses will bring him no romantic merit, but only add to the tragicomic reality of a middle age well off man looking for sensual adventure but in a society that is already so riddled with misplaced and mismatched relationships, that each encounter will reveal a murkier reality to him. His breaking into Honor’s house finds her in bed with her half brother. This can only mean chaos for him. In his infatuation, childlike advances steadily give him a sense of failure, and slowly, acceptance. Martin is shown in a hedonistic light, and so are the other characters at different times in the novel. The pursuit of pleasure is seen as worthwhile in itself, though whether it conforms to conventions, or places them in opposition to a strangely rebellious modernity, is where Murdoch toys with the idea of a new sexual order to replace what England had come to be known for throughout the 17th to 19th centuries. At different times, the characters try to assert that they are independent agents, and by virtue of being so, they must naturally seek pleasure as their objective. Freud’s theories of motivation in human nature is a slight variant of this belief, and slowly we com to be acquainted with Freudian ideas, as relationships are confused, partners become parents and love finds expression in incest. Martin’s tragicomedy is reflected in several instances. For example when he moves out of their comfortable London home, move into a flat, and then moves back to their old residence. It seems as though his attempt to deal with the changes around him find expression in behaviour that he cannot himself explain. It was later that the pain came, a pain unutterably obscure and confused like that induced by some deprivation in childhood. (Oedipus complex) The familiar world of ways and objects within which I had lived for so long received me no more; and our lovely house had put on suddenly the air of a superior antique shop. The things in it no longer cohered together. It was odd that the pain worked first and most immediately through things, as if they had at once become the sad symbols of a loss which in its entirety I could not yet face. (p. 33) Here we get a glimpse of how childhood maturity plays a role in his relationships even as a 41 yr old adult with a fine business prospect. The deprivation that Martin claims to have a sense of, qualifies as Freud’s notion of the subjection of id, the subconscious, by the ego, conditioning. Martin’s frantic relocation, his breaking into Honor Klien’s home, are all an instance of hysteria, as is his self absorption when he is shown lying in bed with Georgie at the beginning of the novel. Such characterization has given critics the impression that Murdoch has adapted this book for the stage. The plot is simple and it is presented straightforwardly. Ethical questions come up in different discourses, but there is the impression at the end of the book that all the characters are flawed, through together, round and flat, in a given space. We as readers, watch them run around in different directions, emotionally, and sometimes come up against each other. To say that â€Å"the proper value is whatever gives you pleasure† is to say that â€Å"the proper value is whatever you happen to value†. Indeed, people begin to value different things at different times in the novel, and each change in heart raises moral questions. The symbol of the severed head, something that greatly fascinates Honor Klien, as a Lecturer of Anthropology, is something that Martin finds himself becoming. A severed head such as primitive tribes and old alchemists used to use anointing it with oil and putting a morsel of gold upon its tongue to make it utter prophecies. † He feels his adornment is something artificial that has been used to beautify a disgusting and decayed object. Toward the end of this novel two of the main characters (Honor Klein & Martin Lynch-Gibbon) are speaking after Martin discovers a secret about Honor, and she says to him â€Å"because of what I am and because of what you saw I am a terrible object of fascination for you. I am a severed head such as primitive tribes and old alchemists used to use, anointing it with oil and putting a morsel of gold upon its tongue to make it utter prophecies. And who knows but that long acquaintance with a severed head might not lead to strange knowledge. For such knowledge one would have paid enough. But that is remote from love and remote from ordinary life. As real people we do not exist for each other. † (182) The severed head can also be seen as a symbol of the Castration anxiety. It would be the father who would do the severing, against the son’s anxiety to dominate, especially in illicit sexual relations with the mother. In this context, the castration anxiety transmutes into a sort of mangled turnaround situation, when in the randomness of sexual anxiety, complexes are reversed and uncoordinated. Murdoch draws a close sketch of the other, the victim of the castration, though in this sense it is not so much the protagonists attempt at keeping the terms of association in equilibrium, the careful examination of loss and damage control. The male has been castrated, now he must survive in a world where he had thought that his emotionally charged liaisons with younger women would give him magnanimity over his nuptial vows. This is the irony which has been reversed on him, he is the fallen woman, the Lady who has stepped beyond the boundaries, and who must now experience perdition, a cleansing. Honor Klien is also an agency in the plot of the novel. It is her who discloses that liaisons between Georgie, Martin, his brother Alexander, Antonia and Palmer. Her affecting an introduction between Georgie and Alexander is the final destabilizing factor in Martin’s life, when he is sure that he has lost Antonia and Honor is beyond his grasp, the his final relationship with Georgie is put to threat. Honor seems like the feminist crusader, in her battle to bring sexual freedom to the women around her, an attitude that can find easy significance by her position as Georgie’s teacher at Oxford. Antonia easily fits as her aide; when Honor goes on to tell her and Palmer about Martin’s relations with Georgie that he has tried so hard to keep hidden even after he has symbolically broken away from his London high society moorings. Thus, she must act as the agent who forces upon him the task of reflection, thus reinterpreting his own history and that of the women around him. As Tagore said of each of his female characters, particularly of his protagonists, that they must go through the test of fire to be able to prove their existence in a society that demands absolute obedience from thinking women. Murdoch, as a female writer coming up in the coffee table age when sexuality was beginning to be openly discussed in the London circles, seems to offer a similar retribution of her male first person characters, to which she has attributed the female gaze. The gaze is an important cultural symbol that is seen in Tennyson’s poem, ‘The Lady of Shallot’. The lady can see the masculine space only through a glass mirror, while the man sees the lady, only later and in her death, and passes a flippant remark on her glassy countenance. She, in fact, has become the mirror herself. Martin similarly is an embodiment of the emotional turmoil that his class witnessed as a whole, and the failure of on man would go on to symbolize the failure of his entire class. Thus, while a crusader works on both ends of the sexuality debate, one is the pragmatic woman of the 20th century, while the other is the new man confused by changing roles and mores. Murdoch uses other recognizable symbols as well. The weather often corresponds with the moods of her characters. The dense fog over London is symbolic of his trance like inability to not bring his life back on his own terms. His acceptance towards the end of the novel has something of a Stephen Blackpool in him; through there is no fatalism to his relationships and the nature of his life. He must struggle, though only with himself, to bring about an external transformation. A severed head is sometimes seen as a satire, or a farcical novel, where people and customs are shown in an ironic stance to give us alternating points of view. It is because of this that it is so hard to pass a judgment on any of the characters in the novel. It occupies the grey mass between what we know and whet we are afraid to find out.

Assignment Supporting Change Within Organisations Essay

It was once said that the only constant is change which is true. This change can be a major change or a subtle one, either way change is still constant. The need for change can either be a voluntary or prompted by the organisation, these are also known as internal and external drivers. With internal the decision and outcome lies with the company however when it comes to external drivers these are out with the company’s control and they have no say over it. Impact of change The impact of change can have a huge effect on the company but also with the employees and one of the greatest challenges to companies is helping employees deal with this change. Any kind of change within an organisation can affect employees in different ways some may find the changes positive and approach it with enthusiasm but the majority will struggle with change and react negatively. These can vary from confusion, conflict, stress, fear of losing their job, lack of motivation, declined self-confidence and loss of trust between the employee and company. need for change Internal Factors As stated previously, there are many reasons for change within a company and V.Group has recently decided to rebrand the whole international company as well as globally restructure within the company too. The main internal driver for this was global influence as V. Group felt this would be an opportunity to help global partnerships recognise how vast and diverse V.Group is as previously each subsidiary company under the V.Group umbrella had its own individual logo however looking at it from a customer’s point of view they did not know each of these companies where part of the same group in turn globally ensuring its customers recognise their brand. Another internal reason was to ensure processes, systems; IT and communication were all consistent throughout the whole company. As there are many offices worldwide, it was also another good reason to bring the company closer together as one and ensure everything was unified. V.Group’s decision to restructure also had an internal driver. They saw a weakness in their processes and procedures which were not consistent throughout the whole group. In order to ensure a consistent and solid approach going forward, they have decided to allocate HR Consultants for four different regions of the world which would mean these consultants would be more accessible to the existing HR local reps and the consultants would make sure the local HR reps consistently follow the V.Group procedure throughout. External Factors Apart from internal drivers there are also external drivers that can have an impact on a company which means the business has no control over. One external driver is Technological as V.Group’s need to ensure their customers and potential client are aware of all V.Group’s services therefore the most effective way to do this is through social media and the company’s website. need for change Within the Economic factor, changes to the economy can have an impact. We have employees all over world therefore when this declines it can make the  company reflect and assess how many skilled or non-skilled employees there are and if they are truly needed. The Environmental factor could have an influence our company too and how it operates. Any climate change can have an impact on the ships we are managing on behalf of clients. If we have an agreement where we have promised a client we can manage and maintain a ship on their behalf but failed to provide this due to weather restrictions then this can affect the client / customer relationship. change impacting the business Change can affect businesses in different ways and there are many reasons. One change can be an organisational re-structure, where there may be many redundancies or more positively existing employees being given the opportunity to be promoted. Either way this can have an impact at all levels in the company. Another change can be, working policies and procedures where at present they might not reflect the company in the best light therefore it can damage the company’s reputation. Another change could be mergers and take-overs which can sometimes leave employees feeling uncertain about their future with the company, loss of trust and experience staff leaving. main factors With any change there are many factors involved within the process itself however communication has to be the key factor involved in the change process. Without this you cannot expect line managers or employees to support the change. With communication you need to ensure employees feel positive. It is also good practice the company adapts its style of communication depending on their audience and where they are in the change. Where one style might suit senior management, this might not be appropriate for administrators or cleaners. Communication can have a huge impact on the end result, it can also help to ensure targets are met, everything is kept in control and no employee disregards the change. Lack of communication could lead to frustration and lack of trust with employees. An additional factor is positively selling the change and setting the  direction the company is heading in. Within this you need to research and investigate potential threats or obstacles what could happen in the future and then communication this to employees to ensure their buy in. Another key factor is mobilisation. Ensuring that before the change process begin there is enough resources to deliver. This can be down to current premises might be too small, training might be required on a new IT system or existing employees might need re-training. Training will not only help with mobilisation but it will also help employees feel motivated and feel valued by the company. COMPARE AND CONTRAST Change is viewed in many different ways and over the years there have been different models and theories on how it is best handled. Developed by Bullock and Batten in 1985 they provided a framework on how each phase should be tackled. Their three main phases are: Exploration Phase Planning Phase Action Phase When V.Group began their re-structure they followed these phases quite similarly. They initially reviewed and verified what change was needed, who it would affect and what exactly would be involved. In this step the V.Group executive board initially sat down and discussed at length why this change was needed and would it benefit the company long term. Once this was then agreed, they then agreed what actions would be needed and subsequently their consequences too. With this phase it was decided over the course of several month that key members of senior management would hold planning meetings to discuss various issues or present different ideas with a view of presenting this to the executive board once complete. Finally for the action phase, local meetings were held by each manager for their team to advise / present the new structure. After reviewing V.Group’s approach to this, it could have been approached slightly differently and this might have helped the transition run smoother. Initially the executive board sat down to discuss the change however once this was done they could have also had various  meetings with senior management to obtain a different view point but to also help prevent any behaviour responses like fear and lack of trust and ensure they felt included. Within the next stage key senior management could have kept other members of senior management up to date with progress. It is understood that not every member of senior management throughout V.Group could be involved however to ensure other non-selected members were updated regularly would have helped with communication throughout. When they final phase was introduce, to present locally was the best approach however they could have also asked for feedback and reviews from employees. This would make them feel involved even at this late stage. BEHAVIOURAL RESPONSES There are many behaviour responses in which employees can show when change occurs within an organisation. The main one being fear. This can be merely fair of the unknown as they are used working a certain way and fear the unknown. There might also be lower levels of employee morale due to lack of communication from management or no support or presence from their line manager. Another response is the Psychological Contract which can have a negative impact. Most employees work under a mutual respect ‘unwritten’ where they might come in early or work late to finish some work without being paid however a negative impact can mean these employees would decide as they are not being paid for it then they would not work it. HR SUPPORT There are many ways HR can support employees on all levels during change. Within V.Group HR help employees by providing coaching on seeking new employment. HR can also be an advisor and give guidance to line managers or employees who need it. We can also provide support by listening, counselling, and supporting line managers. HR also provide administrative subtle support in background whether this be from providing a reference to a new employer to ensuring all their details are up to date and correct.

Sports Day Event 'Give It a Go' Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Sports Day Event 'Give It a Go' - Essay Example Aims and Objectives Engaging students in sports events in order to bring the best in them making them Good leaders, Team builders and discipliners. To promote healthy competition amongst students of the Childwall Valley Primary school (Lang-8 2011). A good psychological and physical health for students To encourage interaction (communication skills) between the students and Parents so they can learn from one another (Bigelow, Moroney and Hall 2001). Work plan of Event The event requires extensive preplanning, which is not possible with the help of the School staff as well as Students. For the success of the event the Sports Instructor of the Childwall Valley Primary School will be given the task of short listing students participating in the event and under which aspect will they be participating (Gomez 2011). The heads of departments need to be patient with allocating some time from their classes during the last two weeks of the Sports Event. Parent volunteering is welcomed and high ly respected for the event. The event will have an opening ceremony, gymnastics and cheer leading squad, field sports, relay races, tug of war and event ceremony with prize distribution (Lang-8 2011). Persons in charge of event Responsibility Name Head of Sports Event Daniel Roffman (Sports instructor) Speaker and Disciplinary head at Event Rachel Mike Gymnastics and Cheerleading Kathrine Jones Field Sport Rohit Adwalia and Hilton John Drinks and Food Parent Volunteers Nurse Kamila Scott Score Board (Spectator) High School Volunteers Award and Closing ceremony Rachel Fo (Director) (Merriam Webster 2012 ) Equipment Required Equipment Required Whistles Boundary Ropes Hurdle Exercise Mats Microphone and Speakers Baseball kit Cricket kit Basketball Nets kit Soccer Goals and kit Stop watch Relay sticks Score board Trophy and prize distribution gifts (Sports Equipemnet Supplies 2012) Explanation of Event The event will take place in the premises of the Child Valley Primary School’s Playground. This option was feasible and convenient as it is economical and will avoid transport issues for students and teachers. The School bus will pick students from the bus stop for the event at nine in the morning. The organizers of the event will be in school from seven in the morning preparing for the event. Safety is the most important aspect for this event. Therefore, the school Medical nurse will be available at the ground at all times during the event (Omelianovych 2010). The event will start at 10 in the morning with the Opening Ceremony and the settling of the students with energy drinks and water bottles. Then, the cheer leading squad and gymnasts will perform their exercised performance. Shortly after this, the races and rallies will take place around the ground with the help of the sports instructor and parent volunteers. The high school students will maintain a Scoreboard throughout the event for the avoiding confusion at the end of the ceremony (Omelianovych 2010 ). The Baseball, Basketball, Cricket and Soccer will be played in the teams made during practices for the event. After the last game of Soccer students will be given a break of twenty minutes to rest and change. The ending ceremony will take half an hour with the awards being trophies, medals and certificates for volunteers (NSW Department of Planning 2009

Economic Environment of Saudi Arabia Assignment - 1

Economic Environment of Saudi Arabia - Assignment Example However, the high share of consumption occurs in the high-income countries (Doing Business 2013: Smarter Regulations for Small and Medium-Size Enterprises, 23). An estimate of 1 billion residents are accounted for more than 80% of the global consumption. In Saudi Arabia, an estimate of 4.5 percent of the global population benefits, although it accounts for more than 30% of the global consumption. It is worth noting that developing countries, exhibit accelerating growth and excellent market potentials. In sheer sizes, the developing countries home 80% for the entire world’s population. Based on the needs, 5.5 billion of the national citizens usually aspire to live improved lives. However, the consumptions increase drastically in developing countries, than in the already developed countries. This means that the consumption rate of Saudi Arabia has outpaced high and low income countries in many products groups. Their motor fuel, meat consumption has doubled, and fish consumption has increased drastically since the year 1990. The global credit crisis usually improves the differences ranges. The economies of the huge and low indebted developing nations such as China, and India in contrast to Saudi Arabia and they are improving strongly while developed countries usually struggle with a slow growth of their economic (Doing Business 2013: Smarter Regulations for Small and Medium-Size Enterprises, 33). The gap between the emerging growth of Asian markets and Saudi Arabia has never increased. However, basing the experience from below the pyramid, the trend signals the developing opportunity for fulfilling the requirements and basic wants of many low-income consumers in the entire world. However, the economy of the Arabian Peninsula has been determined through various contributions of individuals living near the wells and oases. However, through such prospects, it is evident that the slight development is usually presented by the bottom region of the pyramid since it is minimal to be sufficiently profitable for most of the MNEs. The profits are usually constrained considering the need to design and develop low-cost products. These products usually require innovations that blend the old and new technology. The poor countries are the high developing, and they share global consumption that results to the countries occupying the small base. The country's economy dilemma is imposed on how accurately managers estimate the countries potential. The definite resources require that the companies’ invest markets with high potential for profitable performances. Understanding the risk-return tension of global investment option encourages the managers to refine the analysis of economic environments. Managers usually shift analysis from individual level to a collective involvement within the systematic context of the country’s economic environment. In this case, attention is averted from studying the features of individuals understanding of th eir configuration in terms of overall forest. The managers engage in diverse perspectives, and the first focuses on the level of economic systems of Saudi Arabia. This also emphasizes on current policies and practices shape activity (Doing Business 2013: Smarter Regulations for Small and Medium-Size Enterprises, 38). The second perspective usually entails of dynamic

The calculations for the capital gains tax Case Study

The calculations for the capital gains tax - Case Study Example The calculations for the capital gains tax are shown in the appendix. From the calculations it may be observed that it is advisable to sell off the business building before 05th April 2008 as you can avail the indexation allowance and taper relief which are no more available. It may be noted that the indexation and taper relief are the allowanced granted by the government to provide for the increase in the asset value due to inflation (Chris Horne). In case you decide to sell of the property after 05th April 2008 you many have to pay higher CGT of 18,000. However in the case of the personal paintings since they have been acquired only in the year 2005 they do not stand eligible for any allowances and the capital gains will simply be the difference between the sale proceeds and the cost. Hence in this case it is advisable to sell the paintings after 05th April 2008 as the CGT on the chargeable gains can be paid at lower tax rate of 18 percent. Income from employment is subjected to income tax as well as Class 1 National Insurance Contributions NIC). Payment of the Tax and NIC are normally undertaken by the employer through the PAYE system. However the employee who has other incomes subjected to tax and whose tax is not fully paid by the employer may complete a tax return and pay the NIC. Contributions to NIC are being made by both the employer and employee. The employee has to make contributions to NIC at 11percent or 9.4 percent between the primary threshold limit and the upper earnings limit. A charge of 1 percent is payable for earnings above the upper earnings limit. No NIC is payable by the employee or employer on the earnings up to the primary threshold limit. Depending on whether the employee is within the State Second Pension (S2P) or whether he has contracted out using a final salary (FS) or money purchase scheme (MP) the rates of NIC payable on earnings are determined. Particulars Contracted in Within S2P Contracted Out Other than S2P Primary Threshold to Upper Earning Limit 11.0% 9.4% Above Upper Earning Limit 1.0% 1.0% As per the calculations shown in the appended income statement assuming that you have contracted out of the state pension scheme, you may have to contribute 9.4 percent of 23,760 i.e. 2233.44 towards the National Insurance Contribution. Additional Tax Burden on Cigarettes and Wines We understand that you and your wife are both heavy smokers and drinkers. Beware that the budget for the year 2008 has put additional tax burden on the cigarettes, wine, and beer to the extent of 0.14p on a bottle of wine, 0.4p on a pint of beer and 0.11p on a pack of cigarettes and to this extent the cost of these items would go up. We do hope you will revise your consumption of these items in view of increased burden on your income. Other Tax Credits The budget for the year 2008 has made the following changes in other Tax Credits for which you are entitled. Tax Credits 2007-08 2008-09 Child Tax Credit - Family Element 1,845 2,085 Working Tax Credit - Basic 1,730 1,800 Married Couple Allowance 2,440 2,540 We have provided

Evidence based practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 3

Evidence based practice - Essay Example A careful review of the available literature exposes some of the difficulties discovered in finding an answer to this question. Intake of omega n-3 (VLCn3 PUFAs) could be associated to construction and functional development of cognitive, sensory, perceptual, and motor neural systems. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), an omega n-3, is crucial for the growth and functional development of the brain in infants. DHA is also required for preservation of the normal brain function in adults. The addition of rich DHA in the diet can improve the individual’s learning capability, while insufficient DHA is linked with insufficiency in learning. DHA is drawn into the brain in preference to other fatty acids and the speed at which DHA is assimilated in the brain is exceptionally fast, therefore requiring constant replenishment. In addition, the visual perception of healthy, full-term, formula-fed infants is amplified when their formula contains DHA. Throughout the last 50 years, infants have been given formula diets that are deficient in DHA and other omega-3 fatty acids. DHA deficiencies are associated with foetal alco hol syndrome, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, cystic fibrosis, phenylketonuria, unipolar depression, aggressive hostility, and adrenoleukodystrophy. Low levels of DHA in the brain are connected with cognitive decline during aging and with onset of sporadic Alzheimer disease (Martinez 1996). Reports have been generated over the last few years, regarding supplements of omega n-3 fish oil, and the effects that it may have on children of school age to improve their behaviour, mental capacity and studying performance amid concerns of poor diet amongst the younger generation (Poulter, 2006). This subject has evoked a lot of interest in the media from ministers to health care professionals, parents and school authorities (Poulter 2006). The vast amount of research by the scientific community is still argumentative as to whether chemical pollution

Countervailing duty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Countervailing duty - Essay Example Countervailing duties are tariffs or tax charged by an importing country to the country of origin. These duties are basically being imposed on the basis that the produce or products being exported were subsidized disproportionately. By doing so, the importing country can neutralize the effects of unfair trade practices. Countervailing duties work in different ways. These can be levied on imported goods from producers who were not subjected to sales taxes or turnover taxes. Countervailing duties may also be imposed on the domestic production of sale of goods for the benefit of foreign manufacturers. Generally, the idea of countervailing duties is protection both of the importers and exporters. However, in the framework of uneven development, how possible can the concept of fairness be pursued? Many believes that along with other trade instruments, the concept and implementation of the countervailing duties can be prone to abuse and misuse. Furthermore, countervailing duties may only s erve few giants of trade but may be irrelevant to small export-oriented countries falling under the bracket of so-called less developed and developing countries. This paper aims to delve on the analysis of the countervailing duties based how these are being implemented, enforced and resolved under the umbrella of the World Trade Organization. Also, this paper will give particular emphasis on the practices of the United States of America, as a country that tails countervailing duties forcefully1 compared to other countries in the world. I. Brief presentation on the development of countervailing duties The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) There were only two provisions in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade that categorically regulate subsidies. These are Articles VI and XVI. GATT Article VI principally provides that the importing country may levy countervailing duties on subsidized imports if these may threaten or be the source of material injury to an established domestic industry2. This Article generalizes the rules on the application of antidumping and countervailing duties. It disapproves the export-sales under normal value, especially when these cause or threaten the material injury. It also describes the basis for the determination of sales below normal value: when export price is less than comparable price. According to Article VI, when these criteria are fulfilled, the importing country is entitled to levy an antidumping duty3. This Article however has been open to different interpretations and inconsistent practices due to its profound formulation. Much more, countries like Canada and the US, despite being the two of the biggest users of antidumping duties excuse themselves from being bound to this provision asserting that their domestic antidumping laws were much ahead of the GATT. Meanwhile, Article XVI stipulates that all subsidizing countries, either the increase their exports or reduce their imports are duty-bound to be notifie d and follow a consultation procedure for limiting subsidization that may cause prejudice to other countries4. However, because Article XVI was stated in a slack one-paragraph provision, this article was widely taken for granted by many countries on the basis that states were reluctant if not playing it safe as the gesture for

Research methods for managers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Research methods for managers - Essay Example tive philosophy, business management in social world is so complex that faces several difficulties while formulating laws and theories like in natural science. Moreover, the philosophy represents the meaning and truth of simple facts for every situation. In order to justify the application of research philosophies, the research topic which has been selected for the purpose of the study is â€Å"Motivation of knowledge workers in the financial service industry in Japan†. In this research topic, both positivism and interpretivism as the research philosophies can be applied as the topic covers the motivation factor and knowledge level of employees. The application of both philosophies is described below. Positivism philosophy is a typical philosophy that analyzes and evaluates the result of a task or an input by the implementation of few statistical methods. The motivation level of knowledge employees in Japanese financial sector is increasing. To overview the study, positivism philosophy can be implemented. The companies are paying the extra monitory incentives to the knowledge employees after achieving their monthly, quarterly or yearly targets in order to motivate them. Several scientific and statistical methods are being implemented in order to increase business performance in the company. The strategy of incentives is creating threat for the typical Japanese businesses. Moreover, the economic changes affect the business performances of the financial companies. Increasing costs of required software, computer hardware and telecommunication equipments are driving the financial service companies to implement more aggressive business strategies. Several statistical methods in positi vism philosophy can be implemented to identify the natural factors that impact business (Burns & Burns, 2008, p.17). The philosophy reflects the critical thinking of positivism philosophy (Daymon & Holloway, 2010, p.71). In order to study the motivation of knowledge worker in the Japanese

Do Mooching, Chiseling, and Favoritism undermine police effectiveness Research Paper

Do Mooching, Chiseling, and Favoritism undermine police effectiveness - Research Paper Example This prevents the police from taking action towards that person when he/she violates the law. Mooching therefore reduce the powers embedded to the police by the public to arrest any law breaker. This creates a bad image of the force as they are viewed as powerless and ineffective. In addition, the officers are unable to undertake their mandate appropriately due to hindrances of gifts they received. Instead they try to give back through ignoring the acts committed by the person (Siegel, 2009). Sometimes police officers are underpaid therefore finding it hard to reject offers offered by the public. They interact with these people in entertainment halls where they are likely to be given free or discounted admission to these areas. This binds them against efficient operations as they try to repay the favour they received in these places even if they were not in their line of duty. When these people violate the law police ignores their acts or they try to lenient when handling their cases. This aspect has reduced efficiency in service delivery by the officers (Palmiotto, 2000). Some officers are offered with new licence tabs and window stickers when purchasing a car. Mainly dealers in these materials avoid being given traffic citations by offering the officers with clean licence tabs and window stickers. These are even extended to their family, friends, wives. This makes it hard for other officers to conduct their operations as all these people seem to have legal documents although they are not genuine (Conser, Paynich, & Gingerich, 2011). When an officer is favoured he/she not only makes it hard for him to conduct his operation but he/she hinders the operations of the other people. In extreme cases accidents occur as a result of favouritism. This is because people who favoured the police officers know clearly that even if they

Advantages and Disadvantages of Various Communication Methods Research Paper

Advantages and Disadvantages of Various Communication Methods - Research Paper Example In a meeting, the manager or the supervisor gets the opportunity to communicate with the employees who also have the chance to discuss the issue. However, meetings are time consuming since they take much time as the ideas contributed are analyzed and a specific one settled upon. This provides one of the best ways of reducing company expenses through reduced travel expenses (Gilmore, 2012). However, this method may be challenging for the company at first because it takes significant resources to set up. If an employee is repetitively behaving in a way that is against the organization’s culture, then as the manager, I would use face to face communication since immediate reply from the specific employee is essential. In addition, as the manager, I would have to show the employee that the continuous irresponsibility would not be tolerated in the organization. Therefore, it would make a greater impact if I would address them directly. If I want to ensure that the employees are well aware of an existing company event, it would be effective if I would pass this information during the meetings. This is because all employees attend these meetings. In addition, this eliminates the expenses that would be incurred if other methods such as telephone were used. If one of my clients were considering signing up with a competitor, I would telephone call to deal with the case. This is because such issues are critical because they could expose the company’s competitive advantage compromising its ability to remain competitive in the market. Therefore, I would call the customer and request for a reason behind the change of mind so that I could help in improving the company and possibly retain the client. On the other hand, if I had several bids on a piece of equipment and needed a management decision on its purchase, I would result to using video conferencing to deal with the current case.

Cassava Starch Essay Example for Free

Cassava Starch Essay Cassava (Manihot esculenta), also called manioc, tapioca or yuca, is one of the most important food crops in the humid tropics, being particularly suited to conditions of low nutrient availability and able to survive drought (Burrell, 2003). The plant grows to a height of 1 to 3 m and several roots may be found on each plant. Although cassava leaves are sometimes consumed, the major harvested organ is the tuber, which is actually a swollen root. The plant is propagated mostly from stem cuttings. A major limitation of cassava production is the rapid post harvest deterioration of its roots which usually prevents their storage in the fresh state for more than a few days (Okezie and Kosikowski, 1982). Cassava ranks very high among crops that convert the greatest amount of solar energy into soluble carbohydrates per unit of area. Among the starchy staples, cassava gives a carbohydrate production which is about 40% higher than rice and 25% more than maize, with the result that cassava is the cheapest source of calories for both human nutrition and animal feeding. A typical composition of the cassava root is moisture (70%), starch (24%), fiber (2%), protein (1%) and other substances including minerals (3%) Compared to other crops, cassava excels under suboptimal conditions, offering the possibility of using marginal land to increase total agricultural production (Cock, 1982). Plant breeders, agronomists and recently molecular biologists have made substantial improvements in cassava yields during the last two decades. While, genetic characterization and mapping has revealed some insights into the molecular nature of cassava (Tonukari et al. 1997; Fregene et al. 003) Plastics are synthetic substances produced by chemical reactions. Almost all plastics are made from petroleum, except a few experimental resins derived from corn and other organic substances. Plastic has many properties which has made it a raw material of choice for Manufactures of plastic Bags and packing materials. Cost of production, lightweight, strength, easy process of manufac ture, and availability are few of the properties. Man has simply not put the plastic to the right use/ or using it without taking proper care of other related norms of usage. The hazards plastics pose are numerous. The land gets littered by plastic bag garbage presenting an ugly and unhygienic seen. The Throw away culture results in these bags finding their way in to the city drainage system, the resulting blockage cases inconvenience, difficult in maintaining the drainage with increased cost, creates unhygienic environment resulting in health hazard and spreading of water borne diseases. This littering also reduces rate of rain water percolating, resulting in lowering of already low water levels in our cities. The soil fertility deteriorates as the plastic bags form parts of manure remain in the soil for years. People need alternative and effective components of plastic that is safe and biodegradable which will not harm and pollute the earth. Significance: This study is important to be able to help Mother Earth in reducing its pollutants and toxic or harmful wastes. Through this study, the researchers will be able to help other people, the animals and the environment. The researchers would like to stop plastic pollution and be part of the solution. Plastic bags and bottles, like all forms of plastic, create significant environmental and economic burdens. They consume growing amounts of energy and other natural resources, degrading the environment in numerous ways. In addition to using up fossil fuels and other resources, plastic products create litter, hurt marine life, and threaten the basis of life on earth. There is over 45 million tons of plastics per year and nearly every piece of plastic ever made still exists today because of its long-life properties. Biodegradable plastics could be an effective solution to all of these problems. Biodegradable plastics are a much better choice than non biodegradable plastics because they are friendlier to the earth and the environment. Biodegradable plastics break down faster, can be recycled easier and are non-toxic. With these characteristics of biodegradable plastics, we could help save lives and the environment as well and reduce the threat plastics give to marine life. Plastic, the wonder material that we use for everything, is perhaps the most harmful of this trash because it does not readily break down in nature but if it is biodegradable, these plastics break down faster so they have a much shorter effect on the earth, and they will degrade completely. Normal plastics are manufactured using oil, and this process is very harmful to the environment by polluting the air and environment, but this is not the case with green biodegradable plastics. Using biodegradable plastics will minimize the effects that these products have on the earth, and help eliminate their waste much faster. Review of Related Literature: In the past few decades, there has been a marked advance in the development of biodegradable plastics from renewable resources, especially for those derived from starch-based materials. The goal of this development is to obtain biodegradable plastics that perform as well as traditional plastics when in use and which completely biodegrade at disposal. Several starch-based plastics have been introduced into the market, and are used in some applications now. Starch foam is one of the major starch-based packaging materials. It is produced by extrusion or compression/explosion technology. This product has been developed as a replacement for polystyrene which is used to produce loose-fillers and other expanded items. Another type of starch-based plastics is produced by blending or mixing starch with synthetic polyester. For this type of biodegradable plastics, granular starch can be directly blended with polymer, or its granular structure can be destructurized before being incorporated into the polymer matrix. The type of starch and synthetic polymer as well as their relative proportions in the blends influence the properties of the resulting plastics. The last group of starch-based plastics is polyesters that are produced from starch. The major starch-derived polyesters in the market now are polylactic acid and polyhydroxyalkanoate. Experimental studies have demonstrated that cassava starch could be used for making various types of packaging products. As a major source of starch in tropical and subtropical regions, cassava is a promising raw material for the development of biodegradable plastics in these areas. Research has been done on HYPERLINK http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Biodegradable _blank o Biodegradablebiodegradable plastics that break down with exposure to sunlight (e. g. , HYPERLINK http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Ultra-violet_radiation _blank o Ultra-violet radiationultra-violet radiation), water or dampness, bacteria, enzymes, wind abrasion and some instances rodent pest or insect attack are also included as forms of HYPERLINK http://en. ikipedia. org/wiki/Biodegradation _blank o Biodegradationbiodegradation or HYPERLINK http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Environmental_degradation _blank o Environmental degradationenvironmental degradation. It is clear some of these modes of degradation will only work if the plastic is exposed at the surface, while other modes will only be effective if certain conditions exist in landfill or composting systems. HYPERLINK http://en. wikipedia. rg/wiki/Starch _blank o StarchStarch powder has been mixed with plastic as a filler to allow it to degrade more easily, but it still does not lead to complete breakdown of the plastic. Some researchers have actually HYPERLINK http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Genetic_engineering _blank o Genetic engineeringgenetically engineered bacteria that synthesize a completely biodegradable plastic, but this material, such as HYPERLINK http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Biopol _blank o BiopolBiopol, is expensive at present. The diversity and ubiquity of plastic products substantially testify to the versatility of the special class of engineering materials known as polymers. However, the non-biodegradability of these petrochemical-based materials has been a source of environmental concerns and hence, the driving force in the search for ‘green’ alternatives for which starch remains the frontliner. Starch is a natural biopolymer consisting predominantly of two polymer types of glucose namely amylose and amylopectin. The advantages of starch for plastic production include its renewability, good oxygen barrier in the dry state, abundance, low cost and biodegradability. The longstanding quest of developing starch-based biodegradable plastics has witnessed the use of different starches in many forms such as native granular starch, modified starch, plasticized starch and in blends with many synthetic polymers, both biodegradable and non-biodegradable, for the purpose of achieving cost effectiveness and biodegradation respectively. In this regard, starch has been used as fillers in starch-filled polymer blends, thermoplastic starch (TPS) (produced from the combination of starch, plasticizer and thermomechanical energy), in the production of foamed starch and biodegradable synthetic polymer like polylactic acid (PLA) with varying results. However, most starch-based composites exhibit poor material properties such as tensile strength, yield strength, stiffness and elongation at break, and also poor moisture stability. This therefore warranted scientific inquiries towards improving the properties of these promising starch-based biocomposites through starch modification, use of compatibilizers and reinforcements (both organic and inorganic), processing conditions, all in the hope of realizing renewable biodegradable substitutes for the conventional plastics. Definition of Terms Biodegradable able to decompose naturally: made of substances that will decay relatively quickly as a result of the action of bacteria and break down into elements such as carbon that are recycled naturally Starch – a white, granular or powdery, odorless, tasteless and complex carbohydrate found chiefly in seeds, fruits, tubers, roots and stem pith of plants, notably in corn, potatoes, wheat, and rice; an important foodstuff and used otherwise especially in adhesives and as fillers and stiffeners for paper and textiles. Plastics – the word plastic is derived from the words plasticus (Latin for â€Å"capable of molding†) and plastikos (Greek â€Å"to mold,† or â€Å"fit for molding†). Plastics are polymeric, moldable and synthetic materials which are derived from fossil fuels, such as oil, coal or natural gas. Plastics consist of organic (carbon-containing) long molecular chains that give them many of their unique properties. They can be made hard, flexible, strong, transparent, light and elastic. * Polymer – long-chain molecules that repeat their structures over and over * Polyethylene Bags the bags that you will see commonly used, such as plastic grocery bags, are made from petroleum byproducts, which is the root of most all of the environmental problems that they are the source of. Not only do they take substantially longer to break down or degrade, but as they do they release highly toxic chemicals. Resin – It is a hydrocarbon secretion of many HYPERLINK http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Plant o Plantplants, particularly coniferous trees. It is valued for its chemical constituents and uses, such as varnishes and HYPERLINK http://en. wikipedia. rg/wiki/Adhesive o Adhesiveadhesives, as an important source of raw materials for organic synthesis, or for incense and perfume. * Polymer Methyl Ethyl Ketone Peroxide (MEKP) The most popular type of hardener because of its economy and ease of use. * Polyester Resin Polyester resins are the most commonly used matrix in the marine and composite industry. These resins are styrene-based, flammable and cata lyzed when combined with Methyl Ethyl Ketone Peroxide(MEKP). Polyester resins are unsaturated resins formed by the reaction of dibasic organic acids and polyhydric alcohols. Premix Polyester Resin R10-60 – It is a fast gel premix polyester resin used for wood, kapiz, and other lamination with cellophane, â€Å"Lumirror† or â€Å"Mylar† films. It is also used to make decorative jewels and flowers from ceramic molds, to make small coatings from polyethylene amp; silicone rubber molds, and to cast on intrinsic molds such as steel or bass frames. * Plastic Resin Glue – Plastic resins are made by heating hydrocarbons in what is known as the cracking process. The goal here is to break down the larger molecules into ethylene, propylene, and other types of hydrocarbons. The amount of ethylene produced depends on the cracking temperature. Once the cracking process has been completed, the compounds are formed into chains that are known as polymers. Different polymers are combined to make plastic resins that have the characteristics needed for different applications Methodology: A. Materials 2 Cassava Tubers 180 ml of Premix Polyester Resin 300 ml of Polymer MEKP Hardener 100 grams Petroleum Jelly 3 old shirts Measuring cup Grater Plastic Spoon Knife 3 Plastic Containers Chopping board B. Procedure Gather the Cassava Tubers. Ground and squeeze it to extract the starch. Get hold of 240 grams of the starch and divide it into 3 equal parts: 80 grams in trial 1, trial 2 and trial 3. Place 60 ml of the plastic resin glue (Premix Polyester Resin) with 50 grams of flour catalyst for T1, 75 grams for T2 and 125 grams in T3. Mix and stir the components and pour it in the shirt with Petroleum Jelly and let it dry under the sun. To test its capacity to carry weight, use the plastic to carry objects. For its ability to hold water, put water inside the plastic. To test its tensile and bending properties, stretch the plastic as far as you can. Repeat steps 5-7 using T2 and T3.

Freud And James Theoretical Positions Essay Example for Free

Freud And James Theoretical Positions Essay Sigmund Freud and William James helped unveil a new zeitgeist in the burgeoning field of psychology. Freud’s psychoanalysis and James’ functionalism would influence theorists and practitioners for decades, earning each man a prominent place in psychology’s history books.   What are the cornerstones of these milestone theories of human behavior, and how do they compare? In regards to basic human nature, James and Freud could not have been more divergent in their views. William James’ functionalism promoted a free will that carries us toward a â€Å"final destination. † A personal analysis that reflects one’s own unique individual experiences was highly valued. Each event in our lives moves us through a constant stream of different contexts and consciousness. Therefore, James did not focus so much on our good or evil natures, preferring instead to view our world as painted with a palette of varying shades of gray. Human beings cannot be divided into convenient categories and labels, but rather exist as unique and complex individuals. James’ pragmatic and functional mentality (we all have a purpose) leant him a slightly humanistic view in which most people strive toward a common good for the betterment of society. (James, 1983) In stark contrast, Sigmund Freud heralded a rather pessimistic view of human nature, emphasizing instincts as our innate drive and aggression or sex as our primary channels for those desires. Much of his psychoanalytic theory centers around the concept of a libidinous id—a force deep within us and beyond our awareness which harbors all of our secret impulses and desires unfit for society. Most of our lives, our personality is spent in a conflict between the bad id and the good, law-abiding superego. We repress most of our negative feelings out of conscious awareness, but they still manifest themselves in the form of physical illness and mental neurosis, just as the infamous â€Å"Anna O.† demonstrates.   Also, Freud’s proposed psychosexual stages of development further reveal his emphasis on instincts (primarily sexual) in molding everyone (Schultz Schultz, 2000). The emphasis on innate physical causes for behavior represented a strong departure from structural and empirical schools of thought, and both Freud and James brought this difference to the forefront, albeit in different forms. â€Å"No mental modification ever occurs which is not accompanied or followed by a bodily change†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†The spiritualist and the associationist must both be cerebralists†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.Psychology is â€Å"the adjustment of inner to outer relations†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.The psychologist must be a â€Å"nerve-physiologist†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..All of the preceding statements, taken from William James’ Principles of Psychology (1983), highlight an underlying theme in his theory—the body (most especially the brain) is a vital and essential component of â€Å"mental life.† Consciousness, he asserted, must be studied in its natural setting, and study of the â€Å"conditions† (the physical components) of â€Å"phenomena† is crucial. He cited as proof of the brain’s importance how factors such as a blow to the head, drug use, or other sorts of brain trauma have the potential to almost complete reverse someone’s behavior and personality. In addition, his theory of habits also indicates his belief in the brain’s ability to mold lifelong behaviors. Also, James held that emotions were the direct result of physiological reactions to stimuli (Schultz Schultz, 2000). Despite his nativist assertions, however, James did appreciate that vital role environmental factors played in human development. According to functionalist thought, the function of our consciousness is to freely adapt to our environment in order to survive. We accomplish this through â€Å"choosing† our paths. An active mind that filters, combines, selects, rejects, and generally â€Å"weave(s) an endless carpet† appealed to James. He prized the role of motivation in directing our attention. Far from being mere passersby on the highway of life, we are rather highly energetic and involved â€Å"drivers† paving our own indelible mark and fueled by free will (James, 1983). Freud shared James’ basic nativism. Freud’s study of Anna O. demonstrates his certainty that the mind can exert a tremendous influence upon the body. The whole concept of neurosis states that physical bodily symptoms which have no apparent physical origin are likely the result of defects or repressions within the mind (Schultz Schultz, 2000). Freud always remained very deterministic in his theories. All people are born with innate libidinous impulses. All people repress those instincts, resulting in various complexes. All people pass through the psychosexual stages of development, and the personality of everyone is basically set by the age of seven. However, unlike William James, Freud’s stance is rooted in a passive mind completely helpless to impulse. Perhaps this passivity—and lack of faith in the human condition—is the strongest contrast between Sigmund Freud and William James. However, both men will continue to influence psychologists across the world for many generations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  References James, W. (1983). The Principles of Psychology. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Schultz, D. P. Schultz, S. E. (2000). A History of Modern Psychology. Belmont: Wadsworth Thomson Learning.

The Social Media And Politics Media Essay

The Social Media And Politics Media Essay Faced with declining citizen interest and participation in democratic politics and declining citizens trust in politicians and representative institutions (Gibson et al., 2008: 111-13), governments, political parties, social and political scientists in many countries have focused increasing attention on the potential of online communication to address these deficits and revitalise democracy. Born in the web 2.0 age, social media offers the users communication opportunities for socialization, social interactivity and uncensored speech, facilitating the growth of online political behaviour with recent emergence of new interactive and media-rich Web sites. These Web sites, often referred to as social media, are valued in proportion to their capacity to harness the participation of online communities in the production, amalgamation, and exchange of information (OReilly, 2005) and also referred to as new media (Flew, 2008; Lievrouw and Livingstone, 2005). In his research Correa (2010) bro adened social media definition by adding instant messaging, a tool that enables social interaction. Researchers have also folded blogs into the social media umbrella given their function as personal publication tools (Gil de Zu ´nËœiga et al., 2009, p. 566) and their ability to foster interaction (Meraz, 2009). Online expression is functionally distinct from simply consuming content online (Katz et al., 2001; Shah et al., 2005; Wang, 2007). Hence online opinion expression and exchange have grown significantly in recent years. In particular, interactive Web 2.0 applications are increasingly being enlisted for citizen engagement in what is termed e-democracy (Kearns, 2002) or government 2.0 (Department of Finance and Deregulation, 2010), as well as in electioneering. The Web 2.0 consists of social networks like Facebook launched in February 2004; it was developed for user information (status updates, links or pictures) to remain private; visible only to those who have been granted access by that user. This was labelled an asymmetric modelling of human relationships (Porter 2009), however in November 2007 Facebook launched a new feature called Like Pages which look and behave much like a users personal private profile and   allows different networks and groups whose many users can join. These are used for discussions, events, etc. and are a way of enabling a number of people to come together online to share information and discuss specific subjects which is not limited, the members who have joined can view, recent news contents, wall contents, photos, posted items, videos and all associated comments on such items. These pages also offer access to insights and analytics of their fan base and therefore becoming at par with Twitter which is a micr o-blogging platform launched in August 2006 where everyone can be an editor, a content creator, a producer and a distributor. Where it was argued that Twitter is a modelling of human relationships and sets it apart from other successful social networks (Porter 2009), and perhaps makes it a space more open to possibilities for political interaction therefore in social networks all the classic old-media hats are being worn by everyone. (Kirkpatrick, 2010:10). Another widely spread media YouTube was launched in May 2005 as a user generated content website where users could upload, share and view video/audio materials, their own productions or recordings on which the users have author or broadcasting rights. It is not a social network, but it is one of the most popular sources of user generated content among those who use social networks. One of the oldest forms of socialising the blog as defined by Drula as unlike a website from the web 1.0 era, this online platform displays interactiv ity and socialization features (Drulă, 2007:11-15) The growth and popularity of social media websites is distinctive as Facebook became the worlds largest social network, with 500 million active members as on July 2010 (Facebook, 2010a). In the same month, more than two billion videos a day were being viewed on YouTube (2010) and two billion tweets a month were being distributed on Twitter (ODell, 2010). Social Media and Politics Use of the internet for political purposes has grown dramatically over the last decade. In the 2008 U.S. general election the internet, and social networking sites in particular, played a more significant role than they ever had before (Westling, M. 2007). In the realm of politics, social media went from being not known to budding platform for increasing political participation and communication in the 2008 US presidential elections. The 2008 presidential campaign was the first to play out in the world of YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, and political blogging-the major Internet-based social media. These forms of social media provided a new platform for mediated communication which enables the audience to procure content on demand and also share and discuss/ argue with others (e.g., Levy, 2008; Papacharissi, 2009; Spigel, 2009). In the previous presidential elections candidates did own websites which were very useful for fund- raising and communicating with the supporters, though the 2008 US presidential elections showed that social media (e.g. Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and blogging have become increasingly popular forums for political participation (Quily, 2008; A. Smith, 2009; Vitak et al. 2009). The elections especially highlighted that Facebook had become a viable tool for engaging supporters and communicating with them directly in real time. For a matter of fact, during primary season until Election Day in 2008, Facebook users created more than 1,000 Facebook group pages that focused on Barack Obama and John McCain. Data from Pew Internet reveal that 65% of SNS users ages 18-29 engaged in at least one of five political activities on a SNS during the 2008 campaign, including joining a political group on the site and obtaining information about a candidate (Smith, 2009). The 2008 presidential elections came to be labelled as a Facebook election by some political observers. Barack Obama, in particular took grassroots campaigning in to the digital space by employi ng Online Social Interactive Media (OSIM) like Facebook, Twitter, blogs, Flickr, MySpace etc. and used it as a vital platform for his presidential campaign. He turned it into a major strength within his campaign where Facebook played a central role. It was clearly aware to The Obama campaign that voters, especially the young were the one who consumed information and at the same time were also conduits of information. They often chose social media over the traditional media. The online social interactive media allowed candidates to do electronically what previously had to be done by contacting volunteers, donors, scheduling and promoting events. (Johnson and Perlmutter 2009). The outcome of this was, that 2.2 million people had friended Barack Obama on Facebook, in comparison to just over half a million for John McCain. There were over 500 unofficial pages and groups which were made for the democratic presidential candidate. One of the oldest Obama Facebook groups, One Million Stron g for Barack, is going to meet a goal of one million supporters. Facebook was used extensively to reach potential donors and volunteers. The campaign raised a record- breaking $745 million (Tamara A Small , 2008). The campaign truly reaped the benefits form engaging people on social media especially Facebook. The entire campaign for Barack Obama benefitted enormously because of the massive amount of people using social media at that time and also the exposure being at a very low cost. In the wake of the turning point 2004 US presidential election, the Obama campaign of 2008, the 2010 UK election and e-democracy movements globally, Australians went to the polls in 2010 in a media-hyped flurry of tweeting, YouTube videos, Facebook befriending and liking, blogging and other social media activities(CIT). In an content analysis by Jim Macnamara and Gail Kenning to identify trends in the volume of e-electioneering content and activity, as well as the main ways in which social media are being used in political communication. It was researched that 45% of the 92 federal politicians had a Twitter account. However, the style and purpose of tweeting varied widely. Almost three-quarters of Australias federal politicians had a Facebook presence and 34 of them (16.5%) posted videos on YouTube and 29 (14.1%) had a blog. Though to the increase in social media in the 2010 elections in Australia the transmission of messages were one way rather than engaging in listening, dialogue, consultation and collaboration. There was little evidence that social media use was enhanced qualitatively to any significant extent in terms of the level of listening to citizens and the diversity of issues discussed. Gibson reported in relation to the UK election, the internet has become an organisational necessity for election campaigning but à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ it has not brought about that strategic change some have argued we should expect (Gibson et al., 2010: 2). The transmission of one way message was also witnessed in the 2010 Scotland general elections in Graeme Baxter, Rita Marcella and Evaggelos Varfis content analysis of the elections where Scottish political sphere did appear keen to be seen embracing new social media tools, with 35% of parties and 37% of candidates utilising blogs, Facebook and Twitter during the electoral campaign. It is witnessed that online communication environment still requires time to reach the level of maturity found in the Internet political communication of other democracies (Paul Adrian) as in his study of the 2009 general elections in Romania. According to him Romanian politicians do not know how to deal with these platforms however worth mentioning that the case study was conducted during the first presidential election campaign in Romania when the social network Facebook and the Twitter micro blogging platform were used as distinct channels of communication. In other instances use of social media in elections can result in a revolution and receive much celebratory rhetoric around the political uses and benefits of social media technologies in the aftermath of the June 2009 post-election protests in Iran (NIMA NAGHIBI). Social networking sites were seen as central to publicizing and circulating, for a global audience, the political crisis that unfolded in Iran that summer. During the height of the Iranian protests and the height of the western coverage of those protests, which dominated North American media from June 13th till June 25th, the mood online and in the media appeared to be exultant, rejoicing in the power of new social media to facilitate global solidarity in a heretofore unprecedented way. Known as the state with the highest concentration of millionaires with 15.5% of total households with 1 million USD in wealth (Boston Consulting Group, 2011) and as the third one in the world according to the Gross Domestic Product ranking with over 56,000 USD per capita (Forbes, 2012), nowadays Singapore is definitely one of the most successful countries in South East Asia. Considering then that the isle has a population of only 5,000,000 people and that only 50 years have passed from the achievement of independence from Malaysia, all these figures seem even most impressive. But behind this brief but vibrant story of success there is probably one institution which, more than anything else, has been able to bring Singapore from being an English colony to become one of the most powerful financial hub of the world, and this institution is the People Action Party. Formed in 1954, the PAP dealt with the separation of the country from the British Empire (1963) and from Malaysia (1965) and, from 1968 on, won all the eleven General Elections that, every four years, took place in Singapore. The main mission of the PAP has always been to build a fair and just society starting from four core elements: being honest (clean, above board and upright), being multiracial (all citizens are equal, regardless of race, language and religion), being meritocratic (all citizens have equal chances according to their individual contribution to the society) and being self-reliant (avoiding to create dependence syndrome). These four pillars determined and connoted PAPs manifestations of reliability (We say what we will do), pragmatism (flexible approach to generate novel solutions to the problems of the nation), unity (strong sense of loyalty and discipline), far-sightedness (long term horizon in leading the country), decisiveness (taking the right decisions even in absence of complete information), compassion (feel community worries and concerns), resilience (ability in persevering despite discomfort or possibility of failure) across the years. Generically speaking, People Action Party can be considered as a socialist democracy which moved away from the communist and anti-colonialist context in which it took the first step. All this being said, even if on one hand side we can consider Singapore as an idyllic scenario where there is total harmony between citizens and political powers, on the other hand it must be remembered that this big modern miracle has been possible thanks to a constant control performed by the State towards society. A good example of this can be resumed by the mass media that, operating under a strict legal framework and licensing policies, plays a pro-development and hence pro-government (Kuo, Holaday Peck, 1993) role. Despite this, with the Government controlling the most influential media outlet of the country, the situation has been recently changing with the raise of the Internet and the arrival of new source of content and points of view for Singaporean people. The web, though, is now reaching 77.2% of the total population with 3,658,400 users (Internet World Stats, 2012) and is now able to reshape the media landscape even thanks to the highest smart phone penetration rate of the world with 62% of the population owning one of the latest generation mobile (Google and Ipsos, 2012). Anyway, if the Internet can be considered as an enemy by Singaporean government, the PAP was very reactive in using it as the main channel to speak to the citizens. The Party, in fact, decided to set up a Facebook Page aimed to catch the attention of 2,602,880 Singaporeans using the social network website. The most important occasion the PAP had to use its fan page were the 2011 General Elections, and especially the political campaign which took place between 19th April and 7th May. Due to its peculiar political environment, Singapore is an interesting stage to study the mechanism of the elections and that is confirmed by few researches inspired by 2001, 2006 and 2011 GE. The impact of the media on Singaporeans attitude and decisions towards voting has been analyzed in the paper Where is the Opposition? Media coverage, political interest, public concerns and voting behaviour . In 2006 Cenite, Chong, Han, Lim and Tan focused on one specific media, print, to go in depth in the topic of coverage during elections. But it is with Singapore in 2011. A New Normal in Politics? that Tan tries to understand the impact of social media on parliamentary and presidential elections. But rather than from a political point of view, this research tries to investigate the interaction between the PAP and its voters in a communicative perspective. That is why the focus of interest here is on pictures, videos, interviews, links to news websites like Channel Asia or Straits Times, in one word the tools used by the PAP to keep in touch with the 35,826 Facebook users who liked the page. With at least three daily posts during the eighteen days of political campaign the Party raised a constant buzz on the Internet, but how did these shared statements, these candidates profiles and these PAPs promises for the future concretely influence voters behaviour? The aim of this study is to understand how the Peoples Action Party (PAP) uses Facebook, and how do people respond to the same.

Techniques of Cloning :: Argumentative Persuasive Argument Essays

Techniques of Cloning â€Å" It is now possible to make clones, or exact genetic copies, of sheep, cows, goats, mice and, probably, humans. This opens the way towards the production of replacement body parts from adult cells † ( Gurdon and Colman 743 ). Cloning techniques have been in use for centuries. The practice of taking cuttings is universal among gardeners, and large companies now propagate desirable plant strains in their millions. Lower invertebrates can also be cloned. For example, cut an earthworm or flatworm in half, and the missing halves will regenerate to create two genetically identical individuals. Although vertebrates cannot be cloned by these routes, identical twins are naturally occurring genetic clones. Moreover, the method of nuclear transplantation, first developed about forty years ago in frogs, has been successfully used to make clones of sheep, mice, cows and goats, and it could probably be applied to people too. By taking a few non-reproductive cells from adult mammals, identical replicas can be created without damage or even inconvenience to the donors. In vertebrates, fertilization begins with the union of the sperm and the egg. The unfertilized egg is stopped at a certain stage of the cell-division cycle, and the sperm provides an activation stimulus that triggers the resumption and completion of cell division. â€Å" The egg and sperm 'pronuclei' then swell, their chromosomes unravel from the tightly packed, 'condensed' state in which they are stored, and DNA replication can proceed † ( Gurdon and Colman 743 ). The chromosomes then recondense, the nuclear membrane dissolves, and the fertilized egg divides into two identical daughter cells. Nuclear transfer subverts fertilization by replacing the female genetic material of an unfertilized egg with the nucleus from a different cell. â€Å" This was first done successfully on frogs in the 1950s, in the United States and Britain † ( Gurdon and Colman 744 ). A non-reproductive (somatic) cell, such as an intestinal epithelial cell, was ruptured by suction into a glass microneedle. Its nucleus, surrounded by a layer of cytoplasm, was then injected into an unfertilized egg from which the female genetic material had been removed or destroyed by ultraviolet irradiation. Some of

Affirmative Action Essay -- Discrimination Race Racism Essays

Affirmative Action Affirmative action is a blanket term that refers to â€Å"the set of public policies and initiatives designed to help eliminate past and present discrimination based on race, color, sex or national origin,† (Sykes). Before the Civil Rights Acts of 1965 and the 1954 Scott v. Topeka decision, there were â€Å"unwritten laws and protection for white men† against competition from women and ethnic minorities in prestigious professions, creating blatant inequality (Alsbrook). Affirmative action policies designed in part to counteract such â€Å"unwritten laws† were first employed in 1965 to provide equal opportunity among federal contractors; now however, they are used widely in many industries, both public and private (Kahn). In the 1970’s, the scope of the initiatives expanded to the arena of college and university admissions as well. Debate over affirmative action has revolved around myriad issues ranging from diversity to the relevance of past injustices to so-called â€Å"reverse discrimination.† The paramount key issue that is constantly asked regarding affirmative action is, â€Å"Does affirmative action achieve its goal of equality?† Having considered the arguments from many perspectives, we recommend a general position that supports affirmative action policies. However, this support is not unmitigated—certain constraints and amendments are required. Those who oppose affirmative action often claim that it simply does not succeed in helping the occupational and educational status of minorities. Some support for this claim apropos policies in the workplace can be culled from the fact that women only earn approximately seventy-seven cents for every dollar men earn, the figure dropping to sixty-six cents for non-white women (... ...pdf> {popular news, print via Internet; apparently credible} Wilcher, J. Shirley. â€Å"The History of Affirmative Action Policies† Americans for Fair Chance Washington D.C (2003): In Motion Magazine. 26 April. 2004 http://www.inmotionmagazine.com/aahist.html {distinguished news; print via internet; reputable} Yates, Steven. â€Å"Affirmative Action: The New Road to Serfdom.† The Freeman. (1990) Vol. 40, No. 12. Foundation for Economic Education Inc. 6 April 2004 http://www.libertyhaven.com/politicsandcurrentevents/affirmativeaction/roadserfdom.shtml {unrestricted; print modified; plausible} Zauberman, Renee and Rene Levy. â€Å"Police, Minorities, and the French Republican Ideal*.† Criminology 41.4 (2003): 1065-1100. Research Library. ProQuest. NYU Bobst Library, NY, NY. 21 April. 2004 http://www.proquest.com/ {scholarly primary; print via Internet; authoritative}

Lord of the Flies :: English Literature

Lord of the Flies - review. The book Lord of the Flies is about a plane full of boys crashing on a deserted island. On the island the boys try to build a civilized colony but soon fail. Within the novel, objects that the boys find or make, turn into symbols. William Golding uses symbols in the beginning of the book, the conch is a good example of this. The conch is a powerful symbol that develops as the book progresses. The author puts a lot of detail into this one symbol. The conch is a very important symbol that at the beginning of the book is invested with power and at the end this power is destroyed. The conch during the beginning of the novel shows leadership, power, and order. During the beginning Ralph finds the conch and blows it to assemble all the survivors of the plane crash. At this time the author tells us a little about the conch."Yet most powerful, there was the conch. The being that had blown that ... was set apart"(11). Right after the conch was discovered it is portrayed as being powerful and whoever has it, is special, showing leadership. The boys pick Ralph because he has the conch, which proves its significance and leadership. Another example of its power is when Ralph speaks on pages 31 and 32 saying people can only talk if they have the conch and that this person will not be interrupted. When the children obey this rule about the conch it tells how this conch has power, creates order and symbolizes rules. It is clear that the conch is invested with power during the beginning and that it is already an important symbol. The power from the conch develops further on in the middle book, and soon holds a civilizing force over the boys, which can be interrupted as an important symbol for civilization. The power from the conch in the beginning of the book is strong but further on the power degrades. Ralph proves that the conch has a force over the boys. "Ralph had to wave the conch once more" (85). Ralph waves it to make silence to prove the power of the conch and everyone obeys this gesture. However he has to wave it again proving the power is degrading because at first he only had to wave the conch once. Just this alone shows the force the conch has over the boys. When the boys obey the conch and when the conch is around, the boys act civilized and obey rules. This proves the conch can be interpreted as a symbol for civilization.

Social Media and the Egyptian Revolution

January 2011 marked the beginning of peaceful protests and movement demonstrations staged by citizens throughout Egypt. Movement actors fought for democratic advances, political freedoms and equality. The genuine commitment for change, the unity of the people and most notably the tactful com/the-effects-of-social-media-on-communication-skills/">manipulation of social media resulted in the disposition of the suppressive regime. Modern social media has significantly changed the traditional forms of activism and has simplified the efforts needed to provoke civic mobilization.Social media applications such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube hold the dynamic power to manipulate, control, inform and motivate. Essentially, they have become excellent tools for activists. This paper seeks to describe and assess specifically the relationship between social media and the Egyptian Revolution. Building on this foundation, this essay will prove that social media platforms were the major catalysts fo r social change in Egypt. To begin, social media, or more precisely Twitter and Facebook, defined and formed the movement's collective identity.These platforms represented safe environments that permitted individuals to consult about common grievances and share revolutionary ideas (Comunello & Anzera, 2012; 466). Furthermore, social media applications played key roles in facilitating the efforts needed for communication, organization, and recruitment (ibid). These applications were highly trusted as they allowed activists to network effortlessly and moreover, assisted in turning rational individuals into constituents. Lastly, social media aided in attracting global support and ‘helped spread democratic ideas across international borders' (Comunello & Anzera, 2012; 466).By referencing the works of scholars such as Kenneth Pollack, Halim Rane and Francesca Communello, this paper will prove social media as the underlying force of the Egyptian revolution. To begin, the con versations held on Facebook and Twitter shaped the collective identity that would make ‘individuals feel capable of effecting change' (Staggenborg, 2008; 191). Twitter and Facebook were the underlying catalytic forces of the movement as they provided a space that would allow Egyptians to publically aspire for changes and ‘express opposition to the existing order' (Doran, 2011; 41).â€Å"We Are All Khaled Said† was a Facebook page that established Khaled Said's death as the spark of the Egyptian movement. With Said's brutally beaten face as the banner, this page quickly spurred anger as it emphasized both the unreasonable level of cruelty that was exerted towards him and as well as the oppression Egyptians faced daily. Remarkably over the course of a few weeks, half a million Egyptians were on Facebook, expressing their anger and sharing their grievances over police brutality, rising food prices and corruption.This platform page assisted in framing the movement â⠂¬Å"in terms of demands for dignity, justice, freedom and democracy† (Rane et al, 2012; 80). The establishment of the movement's frame gave rise to many other Facebook pages. These highlighted the corrupted practices of the government and educated both constituents and adherents to the movement about democracy and its benefits. Facebook succeeded in breaking down the psychological fear barrier that obstructed Egyptians from participating.Once fear was no longer an issue, the Egyptian social capital progressed intensively as the collective consciousness emerged. Facebook was used as a mobilization structure that would undeniably give back the power to the people and restore their self esteem. Correspondingly, Tunisia's success in toppling their dictator, had inspired a wave of revolutions in the Middle-East. Socio-political debates and ideas of democratic advances in Egypt were highly influenced by the current events in Tunisia. These influences had left a marginal impact on th e Egyptian collective identity.By using social media platforms, Tunisian activists guided their Egyptian counterparts regarding the matters of revolution. On Facebook, Tunisians inspired Egyptians by further highlighting the benefits of democratic advancements and by providing words of encouragement and advice ( Rane & Salem, 2012; 85). Tunisians contributed to the empowerment and collective morale of the Egyptian people entirely through the use of social networking applications. Social media is what ultimately allowed the Egyptian people to be galvanized.It created a type of common room that allowed dissidents to speak feely which gave emergence to the movements collective action frame and identity. As Twitter and Facebook were deduced as safe and anonymous environments, the psychological fear barrier had eventually been broken, thus supporting the thesis that social media was undeniably a prominent feature in the outcome in Egypt. (Rane & Salem, 2012; 84) In addition, Twit ter and Facebook had facilitated the movement's needed efforts for mobilization.Activists used these platforms as reliable tools  to propagate their message and contact fellow movement actors. Both Twitter and Facebook contain features that allow statements to be liked, shared or quoted; therefore breaking down all geographical barriers. Egyptian activists, while by passing government restrictions, would use these applications to strategically organize peaceful protests and other forms of collective activities and events. Movement actors would organize ways to contest authorities on Twitter or Facebook as they knew their great power to spread news (Idle and Nunns, 2011, p. 20).Specifically, Twitter played a key role during the revolution as it held the power to potentially turn a simple tweet into a worldwide trending topic. Similarly to the diffusion theory, Twitter along with Facebook became key channels of diffusion. Both these applications accelerated the speed at which the ad opters received the innovations initiated by the transmitters, resulting in the instantaneous mobilization of individuals and resources ( Rane & Salem, 2012; 78). The pertinent example of this phenomenon presents itself a few days prior to the massive revolutionary demonstrations of January 25.To avoid attracting authorities, main organizers of this uprising had avoided disclosing details too early. When details were finally shared, it diffused virally over social media applications at an impeccable speed that would attract 80, 000 protestors in two days, thus proving social media as a prominent inciting force. Social media was used to raise expectations of success and coordinate strategy (Howard et al. 2011; 9). These networks were manipulated in ways that would inspire â€Å"dissidents to organize protests, criticize their governments and spread ideas about democracy† (ibid).Twitter and Facebook supported Egyptian activists by sustaining collective action and by facilit ating the process of diffusion (Rane & Salem, 2012; 90). To deduce, social media simplified the dynamics needed to provoke the mobilization of the Egyptian social movement, thus supporting the thesis that Twitter and Facebook were the catalysts to the movement. Lastly, social media platforms galvanized foreign support and â€Å"helped to globally spread voices against [oppressive] regimes† factors that contributed to the movement's success (Comunello & Anzera, 2012; 466).As previously mentioned, social media networks had broken down the geographical barriers that would otherwise limit activists. Twitter, Facebook and YouTube disseminated images and videos of police brutality towards the relatively peaceful protestors; which heightened awareness in countries. Activists used these platforms in their favour to gain international support, thus weakening the oppressive regime. Simply put, the more Egyptians attracted awareness, the more likely Mubarak would fall.Specifical ly, Egyptians directed these images to Western countries as they recognized that added pressures from these States was paramount (Khamis & Vaughn, 2011). An important speech permitted Egyptian movement actors had known of their success days before Mubarak had actually resigned. When Obama publically stated his discontentment with the Egyptian government's abuse of power, there was a cry of victory in all of Egypt. The Leader of the Free World's statement had rekindled the fire of passion and had empowered Egyptians, inspiring them to continue their pursue for change.Moreover, similarly to the Tunisian Revolution, the Egyptian Revolution had sparked movements throughout the Middle East. Countries across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region share many common elements, thus explaining the wave of uprisings (Rane & Salem, 2012; 84). The Egyptian movement was merely a response to a lack of human rights and freedoms and its success, motivated all pro- democratic activist s in the MENA region. These activists learned of the power of social media by following the Egyptian movement on Twitter and Facebook.In hoping to rid their countries from â€Å"adverse social, economic and political situation†, activists look at social media platforms as the initiators for change (ibid).. Consequently, current oppressive governments in the Middle East have taken example from the failures of the Egyptian and Tunisian governments and â€Å"have been subjected to a new level of scrutiny† (Doran, 2011; 43). In Syria, the authoritative government has been behaving with great brutality in response to mobilization efforts. Assad has ruthlessly killed many of the rioting individuals all while censoring the media, in efforts of shielding ‘himself from foreign audit' (ibid).The social media tactics used by Egyptian and Tunisian activists have weakened their respective government all while strengthening other authoritarian governments in the region. Twitte r and Facebook supported Egypt during its plight for social change as they assisted activists in raising international awareness. Because of their abilities to cascade information virally with no geographical limits, the Egyptian Revolution became an international topic in a matter of weeks; ultimately leading to the movements success.Lastly, social media aided with  spreading ideas of revolution and democracy in the MENA region (Rane & Salem, 2012; 84). The diffusion of Egypt's success on Facebook and Twitter, inspired pro-democratic movements throughout the Middle East; thus supporting the statement that social media was the seminal impulse for social change in Egypt and as well as the rest of the Middle East. â€Å"The best practical reason to think that social media can help bring political change is that both dissidents and governments think they can† C. Shirky ( Comunello & Anzera, 2012; 461).The Egyptian Revolution and the contributory role played by Twitter and Facebook demonstrate the predominant effect social media platforms have on social movements. The achievement of the movements objectives didn't solely depend on social media; offline efforts were required. Nevertheless, Twitter and Facebook were the major driving forces of the movement as they accelerated the movement's progression towards success. To begin, these social media applications shaped the collective action frame and defined the collective identity, ultimately leading to the mobilization of the movement.Furthermore, these platforms facilitated communicational efforts and the transfer of pertinent information thus simplifying all the dynamics involved with mobilization. Lastly, Twitter and Facebook helped in the spreading of democratic ideas and attracted the international awareness needed that would essentially overthrow the Mubarak regime. Considering these statements aforementioned, it is extremely likely that without these social media platforms, the revolution wou ld have evolved at a much slower pace, therefore proving that these platforms were verily major catalysts for social change in Egypt.

Rice Cake Production

Rice ginmills spend a penny only twain critical ingredients sieve and water. The strain itself postulate certain characteristics to produce the best tonicity legal profession and limit disruption. Sticky strain, whether unclouded or brown, tends to work best, while long-grain varieties dont dramatize during training as vigorously. Water is most-valuable early in preparation. Other ingredients alike salt (added before popping or sprayed on after) and various flavorings be central considerations to savor-and nutrition-conscious consumers just now be not meaningful to the harvest-homeion process.Product ConceptEase of increaseion and marketability are study concerns when a late type of sieve prevention is considered. The popping mechanisms are expensive investments, so the product must be readily adaptable to the machine. Production trials relieve oneself shown that additives greatly increase the likelihood of breakage, so spices, herbs, and seeds are not mix ed with the sieve before the prevention is made although they may be added to the surface later.Similarly, salt and flavorings are now sprayed on earlier methods of adding them to the sift were less than successful in the option rate of whole rice cakes and in taste. Some manufacturers have also eliminated mini rice cakes from their product line. The novelty of the lowr cakes was to a greater extent costly to produce than sales warranted. A constant stream of unfermented flavor possibilities and other options are to a lower place consideration, but only careful confidence of a contented public and tokenish production difficulties justifies a new product line.The Manufacturing Process1.The simple process of fashioning rice cakes is based on the fact that rice subjected to the right combination of heat and jam will expand to fill a tending(p) space.The rice cakes are sprayed and packaged.The manufacturers specifically favored type of raw rice (depending on stickiness, e xpansion potential, and taste) is soaked in water until the right wet take is attained.2.The moist rice is fed into groundballs to a higher place popping machines. A major manufacturing business of rice cakes may have 80 or 90 machines with one to collar cooking heads, one after another of which produces one cake every 15 seconds.3.The rice is gravity-fed from the hopper into thecast-iron shake off or cooking head in the popping machine. The order is heated to hundreds of degrees, and a slide casing opens to impose a vacuum on the moist rice mass. After 8 to 10 seconds of exposure to heat at this pressure, the lid of the mold expands, creating an even greater vacuum on the contents. In the last fewer seconds of heating, the mixture explodes to fill the given space. If the rice forms a large likeness of the exploded mass, it will be more satisfying, have a break out texture, and be full of natural flavor. Styrofoam-or hockey puck-like rice cakes show that either in lik e manner much air and not nice rice is in the mix (styrofoam) or that the wetdensity relationship is wrong, causing solidity but no flavor (hockey puck). Given the prim chemistry, the bran and other components of the rice bond to each other so the popped mixture sticks in concert with appear gumming additives.4.After the cake has exploded in the popping machine, the cooking head opens and the cake falls gently on a conveyer belt. The belt carries the cake erstwhile(prenominal) one or more disperse heads where salt may be added or the cakes are flavor-enhanced. Natural flavors are preferred by consumers and include everything from strawberry, caramel, apple cinnamon, blueberry, and sweet almond to salsa, nacho, taco, salt-only, or Tamari seaweed. Some rice cake manufacturers will accept orders for private-label flavors.5.The conveyor, now carrying flavored cakes, passes by a tunnel dryer where the moisture added by the flavor sprayers is driven off.6.The conveyor moves to the old bagging area, where the rice cakes are distant from the conveyor by hand, inspected for any breakage, and stacked, blotto in shrinkwrap, and packaged in an overwrap bag printed with the product identification and sealed. The bags are consequently packed in cartons for bulk sale.Quality ControlQuality pull strings at the rice cake nominate is a labor-intensive process. Any breakage means lost revenue, and maintenance of moisture levels and popping machines are critical. Moisture end-to-end the process and the factory is monitored constantly. The ambient (naturally occurring) humidness may alter production on a dry day, more moisture may have to be added to the rice. The immaculate cakes will absorb moisture, but this is avoided by completing the process from popping machine to bagging in a few minutes.The popping machines themselves are cleaned every few hours. If the molds collectmoisture or rice, the new cake will stick to the mold and become brittle and break. Because the cakes are individually hand-sorted prior to bagging, damaged rice cakes underside be discarded before they slide by a bag. Once they are fudge for sale, the rice cakes have a unmistakably long shelf life of over a year during which they retain taste and texture. If rice cakes have lost their crispness, they green goddess be quickly revived at home by reheating them in a toaster. Even the freshest cakes benefit from a little heat that tends to restore their flavor.Byproducts/WasteThere is essentially no waste in the process of making rice cakes except for breakage. Enterprising producers have created markets for the broken cakes by selling them as cold cereal and ingredients in spatedy bars as head as bags of broken rice cakes for noshing. Flavors that fall out of fashion are removed from the product line and replaced by new flavors that are in development constantly. Chips, crackers, and other snack foods often provide flavor guidelines for rice cake answerrs.The Futu reIncreasing health consciousness bodes well for the future of rice cakes. As the get across has become popular as a snack, buyers have become more shrewd in rejecting Styrofoam/hockey puck products for those with better textures and flavors. The range of designer flavors offers something for every taste, and, of course, the consumer can top the rice cake of excerption with fruit, peanut butter, or other enhancements to make an even more varied snack. In an age of energy, health, and time awareness, the 15-second rice cake seems to have harvested its long history.