A Brief Look at Early Civilizations essays

A Brief Look at Early Civilizations essays From 3000 BC to 1500 BC four civilizations arose that historians to this day marvel at, the Egyptians, the Sumerians, the Indus River Valley people, and the Shang dynasty in China. They all had great accomplishments in government, and religion and inventions. While they had their own different civilizations many similarities arise, such as depending on the river and their polytheistic religions. They had very isolated civilizations with the exception of the Sumerians. The geography, religion, and their governments all contributed to their success as a civilization. The Egyptians were situated in northern Africa around the Nile. The Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea, Nubian Desert, and Libyan Desert were the natural boundaries that made the Egyptians very isolated. Also, the Indus River valley civilization was rather isolated, with water to the east and west, the Hindu Kush and Himalayas to the North. The monsoons that are seasonal flood the rivers. The Shang dynasty was situated in China over the Yellow River. On the contrary the Sumerians were not isolated at all in Mesopotamia between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Mesopotamia was in the Fertile Crescent, which was why many invaders invaded their land, ultimately crushing them. The polytheistic religions of the early civilizations were rather similar. The Egyptians had pharaohs, which were considered to have a god's blood. Egyptians also had a main god Osiris, who was the god of the Nile. The Egyptians also worshiped local gods. They also believed in the afterlife, which required mummifica tion to accomplish. Sumerians also had a polytheistic religion and like the Egyptians each region or city-state worship a local god primarily. They pictured their gods as having little regard for human life. The Sumerians did not believe in an afterlife. The Shang dynasty's religion is rather different compared to the others Shang Ti was a god that ruled over lesser gods. They also believed...

Asylum - Immigration Glossary - Definition of Asylum

Asylum - Immigration Glossary - Definition of Asylum Asylum is the protection granted by a nation to a person who cannot return to their home country for fear of prosecution. An asylee is a person who seeks asylum. You may request asylum from the U.S. when you arrive at a U.S. port of entry, or after you arrive in the United States regardless of whether you are in the U.S. legally or illegally. Since its founding, the United States has been a sanctuary for refugees seeking protection from persecution. The country has granted asylum to more than 2 million refugees in the last three decades alone. Who is a Refugee? U.S. law defines a refugee as someone who: Is located outside the United States.Is of special humanitarian concern to the United States.Demonstrates that they â€Å"were persecuted or fear persecution due to race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group.†Is not firmly resettled in another country.Is admissible to the United States. A refugee does not include anyone who â€Å"ordered, incited, assisted, or otherwise participated in the persecution of any person on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.† So-called economic refugees, those the U.S. government considers to be fleeing poverty in their homelands, are not admissible. For example, thousands of Haitian migrants who washed up on Florida shores have fallen into this category in recent decades, and the government has returned them to their homeland. How Can Someone Obtain Asylum? There are two routes through the legal system for obtaining asylum in the United States: the affirmative process and the defensive process. For asylum through the affirmative process, the refugee must be physically present in the United States. It does not matter how the refugee arrived. Refugees generally must apply to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services within on year of the date of their last arrival in the United States, unless they can show extenuating circumstances that delayed filing. Applicants must file Form I-589, the Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal, to USCIS. If the government rejects the application and the refugee does not have legal immigration status, then USCIS will issue a Form I-862, Notice to Appear, and refer the case to an immigration judge for resolution. According to USCIS, affirmative asylum applicants are rarely detained. Applicants may live in the United States while the government is processing their applications. Applicants can also remain in the country while waiting for a judge to hear their case but are seldom allowed to work here legally. Defensive Application for Asylum A defensive application for asylum is when a refugee requests asylum as protection against removal from the United States. Only refugees that are in removal proceedings in an immigration court can apply for defensive asylum. There generally are two ways refugees wind up in the defensive asylum process under the Executive Office for Immigration Review: USCIS has referred them to an immigration judge after the government has ruled them ineligible for asylum after going through the affirmative process.They were placed in removal proceedings because they were apprehended in the United States without proper legal documents or in violation of their immigration status. Or, they were caught trying to enter the United States without proper documents and designated for expedited removal. It’s important to note that defensive asylum hearings are court-like. They are conducted by immigration judges and are adversarial. The judge will hear arguments from the government and from the petitioner before making a ruling. The immigration judge has the power to grant the refugee a green card or decide whether the refugee may be eligible for other forms of relief. Either side can appeal the judge’s decision. In the affirmative process, the refugee appears before a USCIS asylum officer for a non-adversarial interview. The individual must provide a qualified interpreter for that interview. In the defensive process, the immigration court provides the interpreter. Finding a qualified lawyer is important for refugees trying to navigate the asylum process which can be long and complicated.

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

Ethnocentrism - Essay Example Most social anthropologists and psychologists converge to the verity ethnocentricism is a root of wrong judgment, misconception as well as mistaken belief. Ethnocentricism is rampant in USA, research confirms that this vice has existed for a long time and it varies in severity from one generation and one region to another. Read (2002) argues that this syndrome is not only limited to America, but it is a pattern that has characterized all societies in the world. Nevertheless, America has experienced some of the most villainous circumstances of ethnocentricism. Read, (2002) noted that ethnocentricism occurs in several ways. In America, for instance there is general syndrome that its codes of belief, behavior, mode of governance, state of technology, education system, etc is the finest in the whole world. This feeling alone does not amount to a social evil. However, the feeling has led Americans in to believing that one nation and continents are inferior. As argued by Reynal-Querol (200 2), membership in an ethnic group is based on various factors such as religion, race, physical features, language and accent. Owing to this, there has existed internal ethnocentricism among Americans based on these attributes. One obtrusive paradigm in America has been on the basis of race.

Globalisation and Business Enterprise essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Globalisation and Business Enterprise - Essay Example In order to understand the effects of recession on particular companies in New Zealand, it is better to understand the factors that lead to recessions as it would lead to a better understanding of the solutions that would be provided in the latter part of the essay. A recession according to King and Cushman (1997) is a term that is used by the economists for different phenomena of problems that could arise in an economy. Generally a recession refers to a time when the overall productive potential of a country (or a region) is compromised. The term recession may also mean that a supply shock is experienced, the increase in GDP/GNP is negative, or the unemployment rate and inflation have increased to a considerable extent. It is important to note that a recession, when it occurs, does not just affect the domestic industry or economy; rather it has implications that are global, as Allen (2001) relates. According to him, the advent of globalization has led the countries to come close together in terms of the international trade. The consequence of this is that the economy of one country has a large and direct effect on the economy of another. Because of international trade, as mentioned above, a global crisis could be caused. An example of a global crisis would be the sub prime crisis that occurred in the US in 2008 as Walden (2008) relates. In accordance with Shankar (2008), the subprime lending fell in the US which meant that the banks and the financial institutions in the US went bankrupt. Because of the uncertainty that was later caused due to the bankruptcy, the investors lost confidence in the US stock markets. The banks were also not able to cooperate with each other and so a ‘liquidity crisis’ was the result. Since the US is a key player in international trade, the bankruptcy at home had implications on

Income Inequality and Redistributive Policies Essay Example for Free

Income Inequality and Redistributive Policies Essay This paper discusses the factors that determine the increase in pay gap between top executives and the average worker. Income inequality has continued to be an economic issue in the United States. The changes in income inequality in the United States have been researched and well documented. The findings reveal an alarming state of affairs concerning income inequality in the country. Most labor economic policies have started to focus on the income inequalities in the country. One of the programs that target this issue is redistribution. For Redistributive Policies to work, it is important to know the factors that contribute to the increase in income gap between the executives and the average workers. Its significance in labor economic policies is vast because of its requirement for mobility as well as heterogeneity in the labor market. It is important to know how the factors established play part in income determination (Piketty Saez, 2003). As will be revealed in the paper, these factors do exist and play a major part in income inequality. Literature analysis The main concepts in the topic of discussion need to be defined. Income is defined as the total of all income components that are showed on tax returns. Income comprises of salaries and wages, pensions, gains from business dealings, capital incomes, rents, and realized capital profits. Income is thus defined as the market income prior to reduction of income taxes. Income is very different from wealth, and the main focus of the paper is income (Piketty Saez, 2003). Available literature defines income inequality in a manner that is completely different from the commonly known inequality, that is, poverty and unfairness. Income inequality refers to the unequal distribution of income among players in a specific economy. This could be income distribution in a particular nation or at the global level. Income inequality metrics seek to give a system of gauging dispersion of income. Income inequality in the economy of the United States is evident in different categories of people. There is income inequality between the executives and the average workers, as in the focus of this paper; there is inequality between men and women and inequality between whites and blacks. Income inequality between the executives and the average workers in the United States is an issue that needs to be handled with the seriousness it deserves. One of the efforts to achieve this is income redistribution (Piketty Saez, 2003). Income redistribution is the reassignment of income from some people to others. Studies reveal that there is concentration of income among the executives, that is, this group tends to earn more that the average workers. Therefore the distribution in this case is from the executives to the average workers. There have been many debates as to the rationale behind redistribution. It is clear that with the increase in income inequality something needs to be done (Piketty Saez, 2003). This will be discussed in a later part of the paper. Statistics to reveal income inequality It is evident from statistics that there is rampant income inequality in the United States. Following the reason of the hard work principle, current executives must work more that the average workers. They also work harder than they used to work forty years ago. As a result, their pay is expected to be higher than that of the average workers and also that it was forty years ago. In the year 2000, the average Chief Executive Officer salary was more than 500 times the salary of the average worker. This is a tremendous increase for in the year 1960 the salary of a Chief Executive Officer was only 40 times that of an average worker (Chingos, 2004). For many other reasons other than hard work, the salary of the executives went up tremendously than corporate gains, while that of the average worker increased in proportion to the rate of inflation. While the salaries of the average workers remained more or less constant they continued working hard as indicated from the results in productivity. The economic inequalities between the executives and the average workers can be observed from a broader scale, as indicated in the rise in pay between income quintiles. Between the year 1979 and 2001, the pay of the top quintile went up by 53 percent, while the pay of the lowest quintile increased by a mere 3 percent (Bebchuk Grinstein, 2005). This is the phenomenon that has marked the economy of the United States; the top quintile though earning more is the one that receives higher pay that the lowest quintile despite the fact that it is the one that earns the least (Kopczuk, Saez Song, 2009). Quite a number of the people who belong to the lowest quintile are the poor. Close to 13% of the United States public, which are about 37 million people are poor. More than a third of this group is, which is about 13 million are young people. Trends in the income, wealth and poverty statistics show an increasing gap among classes. The wealthy are getting wealthier, with the poor becoming poorer. There is an increasing gap between the pay of the executives and that of the average workers and there is no sign that this will change in the near future. This is an argument brought up by the Institute for Policy Studies that has been studying executive income since the year 1994 (Kopczuk, Saez Song, 2009). In the year 2007, the mean ratio between the pay for the Chief Executive Officer and the average worker was 344:1. There was a slight decrease in the average ratio to 319:1. There is a probability that the average ratio will continue to rise. The current estimate is almost hitting 400:1. If there is no remedy in place, there rate will continue to go up with a huge stock option gains by the executive. This is a worrisome state of affairs that should be handled immediately by public policies (Kopczuk, Saez Song, 2009). The public outcry about the income of the executives seems to have gone down in the recent past as a result of rallying of the broader capital market. The focus has shifted from the income to other matters like public health. Cavanagh, who is the director of the Institute for Policy Studies, argues that the income inequality between the directors and the average workers in the United States is a serious matter. He claims that the gap is still very wide, in fact wider than in most other nations worldwide (Chingos, 2004). This is considered a problem in a country that is supposed to be an example of a democracy in the world. The director argues that going back only one generation in the United States, the average ratio in the income between the two groups was 30:1. Based on the factors that are discussed later in the paper, it is not possible for the executives to earn the same amount of income as the average workers. Nevertheless a ratio of more than 300:1 is an exaggeration that should be carefully taken care of. The United States seems to be owned by just a few individuals in the top quintile, with the majority living in poverty. The country seems to be experienced very high rate of income and wealth inequality. The wall street journal reported that the average Chief Executive Officer of a sizeable company earns more than 10 million dollars per annum. This is a vast amount as compared to the 10,000 dollars per annum earned by an average worker (Kopczuk, Saez Song, 2009). Factors that determine the increase in income inequality It is a societal feature that people tend to earn differently. The positions held by people determine the kind of payment they receive due to the fact that they tend to hold varying responsibilities. The importance and complexity of the executive position means that they will obviously receive higher pay that the average workers. For the purpose of providing enough motivation for a wider range of occupation to be occupied, with motivated servants, the society requires to offer varying rewards (Chingos, 2004). Partisan politics The executives are the decision makers in any organization. As a result it is expected that they will always make decisions that are in their favor. Incestuous corporate boards of directors on regular bases approve compensation benefits to the CEOs and other top authorities that are unreasonable. While seated in the board, they only think of their own interests without caring about the hardworking average worker. The average workers have no one to defend their interests and as a result their pay rise increase slowly and after a very long time. This is what has led to the widening in the gap in the gap between the incomes of the two groups. Research reveals that, it is possible for the salary of an average worker to remain constant without increase for a decade (Chingos, 2004). Basic salary While job evaluation is used as the basis for determining pay increase for the workers, this is usually not the case with the executives. The pay increase and compensation for the executives is usually determined by the compensation committee. This is a committee that includes a number or all the members of the board within the organization. The decisions of the pay rise and compensation for the executives has nothing to do with the reports from job evaluation. It is also independent of the data on payment within similar organizations. This therefore means that there is no standard in pay and compensation of executives. There are also no standard rules to govern income and compensation for executives. Basically, income for executives is set to compete with pays of other executives in the market. As a result, the payment is always higher as compared to the salaries of the other workers in the organization. Recent researches reveal that the incomes for the executives within all companies are on the increase. A study of 100 major companies in the united states done by Mercer Human Resource Consulting reveled that the mean sum direct compensation for the CEOs in the studies companies was 4, 419, 300 dollars in the year 2004 (Bebchuk Grinstein, 2005). Executive benefits and privileges In the United States, executives are paid their basic salaries plus other benefits. This is what is together known as the Total Cash Compensation. The executives may also be compensated for their efforts with cash plus shares in the organization, which are most of the times subject to vesting limitations. This is what it means to be provided with long-term incentive. After the expiration of the time referred by the vesting restrictions, the shares are transferred. Vesting can be on the basis of performance, time or both performance and time. The incentives are provided to the executives as a way of motivating them to put more effort in running the company. These are some of the benefits that are not available to the average worker, therefore explaining the difference in their income (Bebchuk Grinstein, 2005). Benefits for the executives are obviously different from those offered to the average workers. The executives are the ones who receive higher fringe benefits, insurance and pension schemes. Most of the executives negotiate high packages during the time of employment. This is mostly tied to their education level, skills and experience. In this case, they are able to collect a lot of money from the company regardless of their performance. Executive privileges are special benefits that they receive. These perquisites are mostly paid to the executives and the top managers of the organization. These may be items like vehicles, membership to clubs, special parking among other amenities. It is common for the United States executives to get perks as part of their overall compensation (Chingos, 2004). Executive bonuses In the basic salary of the executives, most of their pay is not constant, they payment may be entitled to a compensation that varies with their level of performance. The intention of this compensation is a motivating factor for the executives to perform better. For example, there can be a reward for achievement of a particular target. One of the most common variable pay is what is known as executive bonus. This is a kind of compensation that is paid on achievement of some short-term objectives. The compensation is on the bases of any number of performance results. The compensation can be based on the judgment of the board or the amounts of profits or market share gained by the business. Nearly all the companies in the United States offer compensation or bonuses to their executives. This is a benefit that is not enjoyed by average workers in these companies. The Mercer research reveals that the executives of the 100 companies had a mean bonus of 1. 4 million dollars in the year 2004. This bonus is equivalent to 141% of their annual basic salary. This indicates that the bonuses are higher that the pay they receive as a basic salary. In other words, even if the ratio of the basic salary of the executives to that of the average worker was low, the bonuses accounts for the increased level of the income inequality among the two groups. It is evident that with this kind of income, there is no way the income inequality between the two groups can be avoided (Chingos, 2004).

Guidance Counseling and Parental Involvement :: essays papers

Guidance Counseling and Parental Involvement The elementary school counseling and guidance program is part of the total school program and complements learning in the classroom. It is child-centered, preventive, and developmental. The program encourages students’ social, emotional, and personal growth at each stage of their development. The purpose of counseling with students, parents, and teachers is to help students maximize their potential. The elementary school counselor also conducts guidance lessons; consults with parents, teachers, and other professionals; and coordinates student services in the school (Gartner, Larson, & Allen, 1995). Counseling and guidance programs provides elementary students with assistance in: understanding self and developing a positive self-image, showing respect for the feelings of others, understanding the decision-making process, developing effective study skills, being prepared to make the transition to the intermediate school, and gaining an understanding of the world of work (Finney & Maloney, 1985; McCullough, 1995; Paloma & Pendelton, 1991). Counseling is conducted with students and parents individually and in small groups when requested and determined appropriate. It is short-term, voluntary, and confidential. Parental permission is obtained prior to any extended individual or group counseling. Students are seen by the counselor when: parents request and indicate a need and desire that the counselor meet with their children, students request counseling, and teachers, administrators, or other school staff refer the student. Parents are informed of counseling groups for children and adults. Group counseling sessions for children focus on building self-esteem, learning how to make or keep friends, developing good study habits, improving communication skills, preparing for the intermediate school, and coping with changing family situations. Topics for parent groups include child-rearing concerns, child development, and methods parents may use to help children experience healthy development and success in school (Aldridge, 1991; Friedman & Benson, 1997). The elementary school guidance counselor works with parents through individual consultation, joint consultation with the children’s teachers, and parents discussion groups. In these ways the counselor assist parents to: understand their children’s progress in school, select strategies to motivate their children, develop realistic goals with their children, become actively involved in their children’s school life, and understand the educational program K-12 (Byrd, 1988, p. 29). The counselor may lead parent education and discussion groups and serves as a resource when parents study or discuss child-related issues. The counselor consults with parents to identify students with special abilities and/or needs. In this capacity the counselor helps parents understand the services available from other school staff such as the school psychologists, social worker, and resource teachers.

Complexometric Determination Essay

Introduction Using a Lewis base neutral molecule to donate electron pairs (ligands) to a Lewis acid metal ion center to form a single cluster (complex) ion. When the complex ions forms with a metal ion (chelation) the ligand used is called the (chelating agent). EDTA acts as a great chelating agent due to the Nitrogen and Oxygen donating an electron pair to the metal ion center to form an octahedral complex. The metal ions especially with a +2 charge or higher are the reason for water hardness to form on various objects known as â€Å"scum†. Calcium ions are typically the most common contributing factor for water hardness so this experiment uses CaCO3 (Calcium Carbonate) to analyze the hardness of an unknown sample. A scale of water hardness identifies â€Å"soft† water with a value less than 60 ppm (parts per million) and â€Å"hard† water with a value more than 200 ppm. 3 mL of ammonia/ammonium chloride buffer (pH 10) is added to the mixture prior to the titration to capture the calcium metal ions so the indicator can work properly. The experiment adds 4 drops of Eriochrome Black T as the indicator to visually see the color change as complexes are formed and the solution undergoes chelation of metal impurities. The color change from indicator starts as pink and changes to a violet then light blue color to signify the chemical phase changes throughout the reaction until the endpoint. 3 titrations are experimentally conducted to calculate the mean average of the Na2 EDTA for experimental accuracy. The EDTA mean average is then used to calculate the water hardness of an unknown water sample (#97) using 3 more titrations to calculate a mean average of the unknown water sample. An absolute deviation is calculated for each titration experiment to calculate the experimental estimated precision. The final experimental result is then compared to the city of Tempe standard for water hardness and acceptable standards. Principle (Spurlock, 2014) (Spurlock, 2014) â€Å"A complex ion is an ion containing a central metal cation bonded to one or more molecules or ions† (Chang, 2013). Just like complex ions, a ligand is a molecule or ion that is bonded to the metal ion in a complex ion (Chang, 2013). A chelating agent is a substance that forms complex ions with metal ions in a solution (Chang, 2013). The process of the chelating agent forming is called chelation. E.D.T.A. (ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid) is a common chelating agent that will be used in this experiment to chelate the metal ions. Tetraamminecopper (II) [Cu(NH3)4]2+ will be the complex ion in this lab experiment. In chapter 11.1-3 the â€Å"Kinetic Molecular Theory† is being tested in this experiment (Chang, 2013). Solids are denser than liquids and allow very little empty space to exist between molecules limiting the freedom of motion. The liquids are less dense than solids, held closely together with little space between molecules (less than solids), however, the mo lecules in liquid do not break away from the attractive forces allowing them to move past each other freely. Gases are the least dense and have the largest amount of distance between molecules allowing them to move around more freely. According to the theory, the experimental Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen and Oxygen ions are able to quickly attract and find the metal ion in the liquid by donating their electron pair to the metal ion center creating the complex. These complex ions in the experiment use intermolecular and intramolecular forces to break and hold chemical bonds thru the experimental process of chelation to identify the hardness of the unknown sample. After the reaction is complete, when evaporation and or vaporization of the liquid and gas in the molecules is separated the remaining metal impurities known as â€Å"scum† are left. In chapter 4.1 hydration is used to orient the negative poles of the diatomic gases to the positive pole of the Hydrogen and metal impurities in the solution creation the complex cluster. Chapter 4 is also used for titration of redox reactions using a standard solution (Na2 EDTA) to add into another solution of unknown concentration (unknown sample + ammonia/ammonium  chloride buffer + Eriochrome Black T) until the equivalence point is reached (has fully reacted) as visually identified by the indicators (Eriochrome Black T) from the color change of pink to violet to blue. Procedure 1. â€Å"Prepare about 500mL of approximately 0.004M disodium EDTA solution. To prepare your solution, weigh out 0.7-0.8g of Na2EDTA and dissolve in about 500mL deionized water in your plastic bottle. Seal the bottle and shake vigorously for a few minutes to dissolve the salt. 2. Standardize the Na2EDTA solution using a stock calcium ion solution as the primary standard: a. Use a 10-mL transfer pipet to add 10.00 mL of standardized calcium ion stock solution (1.000g CaCO3/L solution) to a 250-mL Erlenmeyer flask. b. Add about 30 ml of deionized water to this titration flask. c. Add a magnetic stir-bar, place on a magnetic stirrer and begin stirring. A piece of white paper under the flask gives good contrast for easier detection of the indicator color change. d. Inside the fume hood, add about 3mL of ammonia/ammonium chloride buffer (pH 10). The buffer is an inhalation irritant. Stir for 30 seconds. e. Just prior to titrating the flask, add four drops of Eriochrome Black T indicator solution. Continue stirring for another 30 seconds and then titrate this solution with your disodium EDTA solution within 15 minutes. f. Slow down your titration near the endpoint, as the color change takes 3-5 seconds to develop. At the end point, the color changes from pink to violet to blue. If you feel unsure whether you’ve reached your endpoint, read and record the volume delivered and then add another drop of titrant to check for a complete color change. g. Repeat this titration two more times. Calculate the molarity of your disodium EDTA from each titration. Average your molarities from the three trials and calculate your precision. 3. Choose one prepared unknown water sample as provided. Record the unknown code in your notebook, then titrate this water sample with your standardized disodium EDTA solution: a. Transfer 25.00mL of the prepared water sample to a 250-mL Erlenmeyer flask. b. Add about 20ml of DI water to the titration flask. c. Add a magnetic stir-bar. Place the flask on a magnetic stirrer and begin stirring. d. Inside the fume hood, add about 3mL of ammonia/ammonium chloride buffer (pH 10). Stir for 30 seconds. e. Just prior to titrating,  add four drops of Eriochrome Black T Indicator solution to your flask. Continue stirring for another 30 seconds and then titrate this solution with your standardized disodium EDTA solution within 15 minutes. f. Repeat this titration twice more. Calculate the hardness (mg CaCO3/L) of the prepared water sample from each of your titrations. Calculate your average hardness and your experimental precision from the three trials. 4. Compare your results to the expected range for municipal water hardness. Check your city’s water quality lab website (e.g. http://www.tempe.gov/waterquality/typical_values.htm)† (Complexometric Determination of Water Hardness Lab, n.d.). Observations Upon adding the preparing the Na2EDTA solution the Na2EDTA solid was quickly dissolved into the DI water to create a clear solution. Later on in the procedure stage of adding the ammonia/ammonium chloride buffer into the 250 mL flask, a visual chemical reaction was observed as the ammonia buffer was mixing into the flask with CaCO3 and the unknown solution in both procedures. Upon adding the Eriochrome Black T indicator the color was visually changed from clear to light pink in both procedures. During titration of both procedures the visual color change was observed from light see-through pink to see-through violet when the process was close to ending, then from see-through violet to see-through light blue signaling then end of the reaction process.

Consumer Decision-Making Styles of Gen Y Consumers in Malaysia

Consumer Decision-Making Styles of Gen Y Consumers in Malaysia Introduction Market segmentation is a crucial element in marketing because goods can no longer be produced and sold without considering consumer needs and recognizing the characteristic of those needs. Due to the highly competitive environment nowadays, attracting and retaining enough loyal customers plays an important key role when developing business strategies.Therefore, business should understand and target consumer from different background and culture differently in order to effectively adapt their marketing strategies (Yeong & Lovett, 2010). In general, there are many demographic variables can be used to segment consumer market, for instance income, age, gender, ethnicity, marital status and household size. Among these variables, gender has been and continues to be one of the most popular forms of market segmentation for a significant proportion of product and services.According to marketing scholars (Meyers-Levy & Sternthal, 1991; Darley & Smith, 1995) argue that gender-based segmentation, especially if it is based on biological sex per se, meets several of the requirements for successful implementation: the segments were easy to identify, easy to access, and large enough for consumer products and services to be marketed profitably. In addition, there are many studies in the past also provided considerable evidence that gender relates to consumers’ perceptions, attitudes, preferences and purchase decisions(Mitchell & Walsh, 2004; Bakewell & Mitchell, 2006).Because gender has been identified as one of the significant factor in understanding consumer behavior and as a fundamental market segmentation index for companies to satisfy their customer’ demand, therefore marketer should endeavor to understand the gender differences in decision-making styles. In addition, research addressing the issue of gender differences in decision-making styles could help marketers to find better ways of communicating with both sexes and to guide marketing mix decisions (Mitchell & Walsh, 2004).Literature Review According to Williams, Page, Petrosky and Hernandez (2010), Generation Y also is referred to as the Millenials or Echo Boomers. They were born during 1977-1994 and are in the 15-32 age range as of 2009. They are children of the original Baby Boomers and their numbers rival that of the Baby Boomers. They grew up in a time of immense and fast-paced change including virtually full-employment opportunities for women, dual-income households as the standard, and having computers at college and home.Moreover Gen Y consumers are more likely to complete their tasks online in just one click in making their decisions (Sengupta & Titus, 2012). Starting in 2000, when the Millennials began attending college, they began to be studied by researchers and marketers to determine the generation’s overriding characteristics. Consumer decision? making styles can be defined â€Å"as me ntal orientations characterizing a consumer’s approach to making choices† (Sproles & Kendall, 1986, p. 268).The aim of Sproles and Kendall (1986) was to provide a potentially useful instrument to assist marketers to better understand consumers’ decision-making styles in purchasing. As consequence, they developed the original 40? item Consumer Style Inventory (CSI) scale, which identified eight characteristics related to consumer decision? making styles. The CSI provides a quantitative instrument for classifying different consumer decision? making styles into distinct categories of shopping orientation.Through empirical research, Sproles and Kendall (1986) defined the following eight categories of decision -making styles namely: 1) perfectionism and high-quality conscious: Consumers carefully search for the best quality in product; 2) brand conscious and price equals quality: Consumer choose to buy more expensive, well known national brands, and believing that a h igher price means better quality; 3) novelty and fashion-conscious: likes new and innovative products and gains excitement from seeking out new things; 4) recreational and hedonistic: finds shopping a pleasant activity and shop just for the fun of it; 5) price conscious and value for money: consumer which has high consciousness of sale price and likely to be comparison shoppers; 6) impulsive and careless: Consumer who do not plan their shopping and appear unconcerned about how much he or she spends; 7) confused by overchoice: These consumer are experiences information overload in the market due to perceiving too many brands and stores and have difficulties making choices and 8) habitual and brand-loyal: These consumers select favorite brands and stores repeatedly overtime. Hiu, Siu, Wang and Chang (2001) revealed three prominent market segments through their study namely: 1. )Trendy, perfectionistic consumers: who frequent shopping and take it as an enjoyment. They are interested in high quality and fashionable items, read fashion magazines, watch various advertisements to gain trendy fashion information and tend to supportive with foreign brand which is high quality and fashionable styling. 2. ) Tradisional, pragmatic consumer: who do not view shopping as a enjoyment activity to them. They are price conscious, not interested in fashion styling and most probably choosing local brands. 3. Confused by overchoice: these consumers tend not to read magazines or advertisement on fashion, avoid exposure to too much information, and only purchase local brands which they are familiar. According to Bakewell and Mitchell (2003), five meaningful and distinct decision-making groups were found in the study of decision-making styles of adult female Generation Y consumers in the UK: â€Å"recreational quality seekers†, â€Å"recreational discount seekers†, â€Å"trend setting loyals†, â€Å"shopping and fashion uninterested† and â€Å"confused tim e/money conserving†. In their later study on decision making styles of male consumers in the UK (Bakewell & Mitchell, 2004), all of the original eight traits plus four new traits namely; store-loyal/low-price seeking, time-energy conserving, confused time restricted and store-promiscuity were identified.From their study it shows that the potential of the CSI for segmenting market as meaningful and different groups of male consumers with different decision making styles. Despite of previous studies which reported gender differences in decision-making styles of consumer, Mitchell and Walsh (2004) compared the decision-making styles of male and female shoppers in Germany. From the research, they managed to verify the construct validity of all eight CSI factors for female shopper and four of the factors for male shoppers. In consequence, they also concluded that male consumers were slightly less likely to be perfectionists, somewhat less novelty and fashion conscious, and less lik ely to be confused when making purchases compared to female consumers.Years after that, Bakewell and Mitchell (2006) undertook a similar study in the UK by using a sample of 480 male and female undergraduate students, they found that nine decision-making style were common to both genders. Through the study they had discovered three traits for male (store-loyal/low-price seeking, confused time-restricted and store-promiscuity) and three new traits for female traits (bargain seeking, imperfectionism and store loyal). There are few studies recently which had attempted to thoroughly explore the antecedent and consequences of consumer decision-making styles. Ghodeswar (2007) found that that seven out of eight dimensions of consumer decision-making style proposed by Sproles and Kendall (1986) in his study of consumer decision-making styles among Indian students.The only style which was not confirmed in his data is â€Å"price consciousness/ value for money consumer†. Gupta, Brantle y & Jackson (2010) found that consumers Generation Y at Midwestern University tend to be brands store loyal when they are buying high involvement product. Kambiz & Fereshteh (2011) found that husband and wife have divergent decision-making styles and their family structure as a social-structural variable can be influenced by the decision-making styles of family members which is related to their purchasing behavior. Lastly, it is believed that male and female consumer in Malaysia may also have certain distinctive characteristic in decision-making during shopping and purchasing.But those characteristic could be have equal interest to both researchers and marketing practitioners. Hence, this paper will fill the gap by focusing on the differences in decision-making styles on gender in the Malaysia context. Methodology According to the past study, most of the researchers prepared a structured questionnaire based on literature review and objectives of the study. Consumers decision-making were measured using the 40-items of Consumer Style Inventory (CSI), developed by Sproles and Kendall (1986). All scales were measured on a 5-point Likert-type scales ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The reliabilities of the CSI scale, according to Sproles and Kendall (1986), ranged from 0. 48 to 0. 76.The scales items were translated into Malay language with minor changes in wording to clarify the meaning. In addition, some demographic questions were included in the questionnaire. And most of the questionnaire was self-administered to non-probability sample of male and female undergraduate students in Malaysia. Finding and Analysis Common Factors for both Male and Female According to the research study of Safiek and Hayatul (2009) in Malaysia, the decision-making of Malaysian young consumer for both gender have similarities namely: 1. ) Quality consciously: meaning that they prefer to buy more durable and quality product. 2. ) Brand consciously: it shows tha t they set high standards and have high expectations for the products they buy.Moreover they choose to buy the product which is heavily advertised and well-know national brands. 3. ) Fashion consciousness: this shows that both genders are seem to gain pleasure from seeking out new things and keep up-to date with fashionable attractive styles. 4. ) Confused by overchoice: This factor shows that they feel over-loaded with the information on various brands products and find it very hard to choose the best product during shopping. 5. ) Satisfying and value seeking: concluded that if both items were identical in both sample, they will carefully find the best value for money product to be purchased which is also satisfied their needs. Male FactorsAgain from the study of Safiek and Hayatul (2009), there are two factors found for males namely brand loyalty and time-energy conserving. For brand loyalty, male consumers score higher than female consumers on this factor because they tend to hav e favorite brands and will use these habitually. Next, time-energy conserving which was not found in females but it characterizes males who often save energy by making their shopping trips as fast as possible in the same stores. Moreover, males have the perception that going shopping is a waste of time and they don’t give their purchases much thought. In overall, both of these results show the similarity with previous researchers, Bakewell and Michell (2006) in the UK. Female factorsFrom the study of Safiek and Hayatul (2009) research, it shows that there are three female factors found namely price consciousness, recreational and shopping avoidance. Female consumers scored higher than male consumers on price consciousness shows that female are more aware of the sale prices and more often choose to purchase lower price products. Next, female shoppers are more particular on recreational or pleasant shopping activity compared to male shoppers. And this factor is consistent with Mitchell and Walsh’s (2004) and Bakewell and Mitchell’s (2006) which characterization of a recreational consumer. The last factor is shopping avoidance which is very exclusive to female consumers and posed an opposite trait of recreational.However the high scored shows that if the shopping is unpleasant, female shoppers will tend to shop as quickly by purchasing the first brands or product that seem to be good enough. Conclusion In conclusion, through the research of consumer decision making styles, it offers a great opportunity to understand the characteristic or style of consumer towards their shopping behavior. And this consumer style inventory provides a fundamental for consumer decision making styles and has practical application advantages for marketers in their marketing strategic. However this study has a limitation because it only covered a specific segment of young adult in an local university in Malaysia.For future recommendation, there is a need to study th ese decision making styles among the larger population across different segment in order to get better converge of Malaysia young consumers. References Sproles, G. & Kendall, E. (1986). A Methodology for Profiling Consumers’ Decision-Making Styles, Journal of Consumer Affairs, Vol. 20 (2), pp. 267-279 Mitchell, V. , & Walsh, G. (2004). Gender Differences in German Consumer Decision-Making styles. Journal of Consumer Behavior, 3(4), 331-346 Bakewell, C. & Mitchell, V. W. (2003) Generation Y Female Consumer Decision-Making styles. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 31(2), 95-106. Bakewell, C. & Mitchell, V. W. (2006).Male versus Female Consumer Decision Making. Journal of Business Research, 59, 1297-1300. Hiu, A. S. Y. , Siu, N. Y. M. , Wang, C. C. L. & Chang, L. M. K. (2001). An Investigation of Decision-Making Styles of Consumers in China. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 35 (2), 326-345. Safiek, M. & Hayatul, S. S. (2009). Consumer Decision-Making Styles in Malaysia: An Exploratory Study of Gender Differences. European Journal of Social Sciences – Volume 10, Number 4 Safiek, M. (2009). An Investigation of Consumer Decision-Making Styles of Young-Adults in Malaysia. International Journal of Business and Management. Vol. 4, No. 4 Darley, W. K. & Smith, R. E (1995).Gender Differences in Information Processing Strategies: An Empirical Test of the Selectivity Model in Advertising Response. Journal of Advertising, 24(1), 41-59. Meyer-Levy, J. & Sternthal, B. (1991). Gender Differences in the Use of Message Cues and Judgments. Journal of Marketing Research, 29 (1), 84-96. Kaylene C. Williams, K. C. , Page, R. A, Petrosky, A. R. & Hernandez, E. H. (2010). Multi-Generational Marketing: Descriptions, Characteristics, Lifestyles, and Attitudes. Journal of Applied Business and Economics, Vol. 11(2) Sengupta, D. & Titus, R. (2012). Evaluating Environmental Variables to assess Exhibited Behaviour: A Study of Gen Y. International Conference on Technology and Business Management Yeong, N. C. & Lovet, M. G. (2010).Consumer Decision-Making Styles of Hispanic American College Students: A Consumer Styles Inventory Approach. American Journal of Business Research, Vol. 3, No 2 Ghodeswar B. M. (2007), â€Å"Consumer Decision-Making Styles Among Indian Students†, Alliance Journal of Business Research, Vol. 3, Spring 2007, pp. 36-48. Gupta, M. , Brantley, A. , & Jackson, V. P. (2010). Product Involvement as a Predictor of Generation Y Consumer Decision Making Styles. The Business Review, Cambridge, Vol. 14, Num. 2 Kambiz, H. H. & Fereshteh, L. (2011). Influence of Family Structure on Consumer Decision-making Style in Iran. International Journal of Business and Management, Vol. 6, No. 11; November 2011

To Clone or not to Clone essays

To Clone or not to Clone essays On February 24, 1997, the whole world was shocked by the news that Scottish scientists had successfully cloned a sheep. Dolly an artificially cloned mammal was born a star. After the shock, that cloning was not only a possibility but a reality, wore off the out cry against human cloning began. Physicians, scientists, politicians and church leaders and many more have been trying to ban the cloning of humans ever since. Is cloning something to be afraid of? I do not believe it is. I believe that cloning will become a tool of science that will, in time, bring many benefits to humankind. The Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia describes a clone as "an organism by an asexual (nonsexual) reproductive process"(clone 1). This definition means that we already have many clones on the earth today. The Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia also states that "the organisms known as prokaryotes (the bacteria and cyanobacteria), a number of other simple organisms, such as most protozoan, many other algae, and some yeasts, also reproduce primarily by cloning, as do certain higher organisms like the dandelion or aspen tree"(clone 1). The Biology Textbook Concepts and Connections describes a clone as "a single organism that is genetically identical to another"(G-5). With this definition we can come to the conclusion that identical twins are also clones. Cloning then is not a new idea but one that has been around since the beginning of time. Embryo Splitting or Blastomere Separation Embryo splitting as Gregory Pence, a medical ethicist, writes is when "an embryo that has already been formed by sexual reproduction is split into two identical halves"(Flesh My Flesh: intro). The National Bioethics Advisory Committee calls this process blasotmere separation and explains that "each cell, called a blastomere, is able to produce a new individual organism"(15). See Appendix A figure one. Pence also writes that embryo splitting is "a process that has ...

The Byzantine Roman Emperor Justinian

The Byzantine Roman Emperor Justinian Name: (At birth) Petrus Sabbatius; Flavius Petrus Sabbatius JustinianusBirthplace: ThraceDates: c.482, at Tauresium - 565Ruled: April 1, 527 (jointly with his uncle Justin until August 1) - November 14, 565Wife: Theodora Justinian was a Christian emperor of the Roman Empire on the cusp between Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Justinian is sometimes called The Last of the Romans. In Byzantine Matters, Averil Cameron writes that Edward Gibbon didnt know if Justinian belonged in the category of the Roman emperors who had come before or the Greek kings of the Byzantine Empire who came after him. History remembers Emperor Justinian for his reorganization of the government of the Roman Empire and his codification of the laws, the Codex Justinianus, in A.D. 534. Justinian Family Data An Illyrian, Justinian was born Petrus Sabbatius in A.D. 483 in Tauresium, Dardania (Yugoslavia), a Latin-speaking area of the Empire. Justinians childless uncle became the Roman Emperor Justin I in A.D. 518. He adopted Justinian either before or after he became emperor; hence the name Justinianus. Justinians own birth-based status in society was not high enough to command respect without the imperial office, and his wifes position was even worse. Justinians wife, Theodora, was the daughter of a bear-keeper father who became bear-keeper to the Blues (relevant to the Nika Revolts, below), an acrobat mother, and she herself is considered to have been a courtesan. The DIR article on Justinian says Procopius claims Justinians aunt, Empress Euphemia, by marriage, so disapproved the marriage that Justinian waited until she died (before 524) before even starting to deal with the legal impediments to the marriage. Death Justinian died on November 14, 565, in Constantinople. Career Justinian became Caesar in 525. On April 4, 527, Justin made Justinian his co-emperor and gave him the rank of Augustus. Justinians wife Theodora received the rank of Augusta. Then, when Justin died on August 1, 527, Justinian went from joint to sole emperor. Persian Wars and Belisarius Justinian inherited conflict with the Persians. His commander Belisarius obtained a peace treaty in 531. The truce was broken in 540 and so Belisarius was again sent off to deal with it. Justinian also dispatched Belisarius to settle problems in Africa and Europe. Belisarius could do little against the Ostrogoths in Italy. Religious Controversy The religious position of the Monophysites (whom Justinians wife, Empress Theodora, supported) conflicted with the accepted Christian doctrine from the Council of Chalcedon (A.D. 451). Justinian was unable to do anything to resolve the differences. He even alienated the pope in Rome, creating a schism. Justinian expelled teachers of paganism from the Academy in Athens, closing the schools of Athens, in 529. In 564, Justinian adopted the heresy of Aphthartodocetism and tried to impose it. Before the matter was resolved, Justinian died, in 565. Nika Riots However improbable it may seem, this event was born of extreme sports fanaticism and corruption. Justinian and Theodora were Blues fans. Despite fan loyalty, they attempted to reduce the influence of both teams, but too late. The Blue and Green teams created a disturbance in the Hippodrome on June 10, 532. Seven ringleaders were executed, but one of each side survived and became a rallying point that integrated fans of both teams. They and their fans began shouting Nika Victory in the Hippodrome. Now a mob, they appointed a new emperor. Justinians military leaders prevailed and slaughtered 30,000 rioters. Building Projects The damage caused to Constantinople by the Nika Revolt paved the way for Constantines building project, according to DIR Justinian, by James Allan Evans. Procopius book On Buildings [De aedificiis] describes Justinians building projects that included aqueducts and bridges, monasteries, orphanages, hostels, and the Hagia Sophia, which still stands in Constantinople/Istanbul.

Benjamin Franklin Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Benjamin Franklin - Essay Example Franklin as a discoverer, he is well known for discovering the lightning rod, bifocals, and the Franklin stove. Franklin also assisted in many civic associations such as the Philadelphia’s fire department and a university. Franklin faced many challenges that he managed to overcome to achieve his goals. For instance, one of the most complicated challenges he experienced was when he appeared before the House of Commons that took place on 13 February 1766 (Isaacson, 2004). The House asked him one hundred and seventy four questions regarding taxation without representation in a limit of only two hours. There were also more series of problems that he faced; his father took him out of school when he was still young so that he could do a job and earn some money, which he was never pleased with that decision because he really liked going to school (Clark, 2004). He also faced another irritating challenge when he was at the age of 17 years for being overweight. He was extremely well-built and skinny because he spent most of his time swimming and trying to be more sporty during the last days of his life, and trying to coach other people on the basics of swimming even when he was seventy years old. Franklin was also mocked, dishonored and was ousted from his position as the postmaster general, and was held responsible by the British government for the Boston Tea Party (Clark, 2004). He was also not so good in academic work and he did not do well in academics more so in mathematics that he was scoring very low grades. Benjamin Franklin helped in major contributions and accomplishments in the history of the Unite States. For example, he was one of the founding Fathers of the U.S., assisted in the drafting of both the declaration of independence and constitution of the U.S., which was the most significant achievement of his life (McCormick, 2008). He came from a poor background and through his efforts and hard works; he became one of the great figures in the American