Neil Postman's view on either religion, politics, or education in Essay

Neil Postman's view on either religion, politics, or education in Amusing Ourselves to Death - Essay Example This is certainly true, as many local cable shows make religion to be some kind of spectacle and not much else. However, even off the television religion is not all that great and in fact many of the things Postman talks about have been carried out long before television existed. According to Postman, when religion is put on television, "Everything that makes religion an historic, profound and sacred human activity is stripped away; there is no ritual, no dogma, no tradition, no theology, and above all, no sense of spiritual transcendence" (Postman). He says that what happens instead is that the preacher becomes more important than God himself, and that essentially the religious experience becomes some kind of cult of personality where the audience is enthralled with the preacher who owns the television show. Postman cites a number of television shows which proves his point. His three main examples are Jim Swaggart, Pat Robertson, and Reverend Terry. Reverend Terry "offers a "prosper ity Campaign Kit," which appears to have a dual purpose: As it brings one nearer to Jesus, it also provides advice on how to increase one's bank account" (Postman). Pat Robertson is not quite so bold about it but his 700 club still charges people "fifteen dollars per month" to belong to it and to keep running (Postman). Jim Swaggart is in the old style but his preaching is still television-ized, his sermons are "theatrical, emotional, and in a curious way comforting" (Postman). Indeed, there are plenty of television shows like the ones Postman mentions. Local cable stations abound in just the sort of preaching that he is talking about. In fact, things have gotten worse since Postman's writing. Figures like Glenn Beck, who has a television show as well as a radio show, actually just spread hatred and spectacle on their show purely for ratings. Glenn Beck is a reat example of the preacher being more important than God, like Postman says. Postman, though, says television "is not congen ial to messages of naked hate" (Postman). Figures like Beck show this is not the case, and suggest that religion has become even more degraded by television now. Postman believes that television automatically changes the message of anything, and that this is why religion becomes cheapened on television. Unlike the thrill of being there in person, where the preacher can speak more directly to you, television makes this impossible because you do not know who is watching and have to take care of the ratings. Basically he says that "on television, religion, like everything else, is presented, quite simply and without apology, as an entertainment." Postman compares several pre-television evangelists to the three TV preachers he brought up. He says that men "such as Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield and Charles Finney, ... were men of great learning, theological subtlety and powerful expositional skills" (Postman). He says that what makes the real difference though, is that the medium o f television is not as effective as the medium of being there in person. The problem with moderrn evangelists is that they do not "the truth, if they think about it at all, that not all forms of discourse can be converted from one medium to another" (Postman). He says this is like translating poetry, where the message remains but the meaning is lost. While Postman does make a good point about ratings, it is not necessarily true that all pre-television evangelists were better at their job. For instance there must have been many who were just in it to make money by entertaining people, and in a time when television was not available there was not any other sort of entertainment. For this reason

Implementation of an IT Project †A First Hand Account Essay Example for Free

Implementation of an IT Project – A First Hand Account Essay With innovation of computers, the business world is changing very fast as seen during the last 3 decades. Due to the advances in IT and Communications technology, the world has become a global village. The business opportunities have multiplied due to opening up of global markets. But so have the challenges. No economy is isolated or transparent from rest of the economies. Industries are expected to offer custom designed products at most competitive rates in shortest possible time. Even the multinational organizations operating in many countries across the world have been facing these challenges. One of the answers to these challenges they have been relying upon is to introduce Information Communications Technology in their organizations and leverage upon them to meet these challenges. In this document, we describe a case of one company in a country. This company was a part of a US based multinational group which decided to implement Oracle e Business 11i suite at all its units worldwide so as to consolidate required information at its headquarters at US. To comply with the requirement, this unit also decided to implement Oracle e Business Suite at its plant offices. How this implementation was planned, what were the objectives, what measures were taken to ensure conformity with the project plan, how the changeover to new software was planned, how the business associates were affected and what steps were initiated to ensure that the envisaged benefits actually accrue, is described in this document. Also various activities right from the initiation of the project, the project organization, roles and responsibilities, communications and reporting with the principals are also described. Implementation of an IT Project – A First Hand Account : EXCEL Auto Components Pvt Ltd EACL (a hypothetical name) is a part of a multinational EXCEL Group having its headquarters in US and group companies located all over the world. The Group is engaged in manufacture of engines, compressors, generating sets automobile components worldwide. EACL is engaged in manufacture of Automobile and engine components. Much of the orders received by EACL being repeat orders, are based on exiting design and technology. Besides these, there are sizable number of orders based on the same technology but involve a fresh design and prototype development, before the commercial production takes place. EACL is a subsidiary company of Excel Industries Ltd EIL which the main company of the group within the country. EIL centralizes many activities of the group and looks after these activities of the group companies in that country. Information Communication Technology is one of such activities which EIL handles for all group companies in the country. EIL handles IT Infrastructure management, Software Applications Management and other related activities for all group companies in the country. Recently the Corporate HQ at US has announced a decision to standardize on Business Application Software, directing all group companies worldwide to implement and switch over to Oracle 11i e Business Suite within a period of 18 months. Accordingly all companies had implemented and switched over to Oracle 11i except for EACL where the implementation had to be called of for various reasons, lack of in-house IT staff being one of them. Later on it was taken up once again. This time EIL Looked for an IT Consultant to be placed on site with the total responsibility of implementing Oracle 11i, with the help of Functional Consultants from EIL and a cross functional team of users from EACL. A person was found suitable and was placed on site at EACL to handle complete, end to end implementation of this project. He was to report to Lies Program Manager and was to be assisted by a Project Team comprising of 6 Functional Consultants from EIL and 5 Key Users from EACL, drawn from relevant functional areas. While EIL consultants had prior experience of Oracle ii1 implementation in their own company, EACL Consultants did not have any experience even of other ERP Products or any other applications. They – like most other users of EACL, had an exposure limited only to Microsoft Office Suite. However, most of them were young, fresh Mechanical Engineers very enthusiastic about the project. Similarly for EIL also this was their maiden experience to implement Oracle 11i at a company other than their own company. So everyone was totally charged up to take up this challenge. The assignment was clear for the Project Manager. Oracle 11i e Business Suite comprising of Financial, Manufacturing, Supply Chain Management and Order Management Modules was required to be implemented within a time frame of 6 calendar months with the help of the Project Team assigned. CEO of EACL was fully backing this project and he had publicly instructed two senior most managers at the site – Plant Head and Finance Controller – to ensure full support resource commitments to the project. The Project implementation required to covered Plant as well as a Marketing office located in two different cities. CEO was also located in the Marketing Office. Objectives : The Objectives set out for the project included 20% reduction in investment in Inventory due to savings in inventory carrying cost and improvement in the planning process, Reduction in throughput time by 20% (increase i production sales and improvement in sales margins), Fast Order Execution with 90% on time delivery. Another significant objective was Confirming to standardization as laid down by the corporate group so as to facilitate group consolidation of information. Besides, the changeover was required to be transparent to the outside world i. e. the Business Associates. Investment : Since EACL was already running a home grown ERP Product, it already had in place the Client PCs, LAN, connectivity to EIL where Oracle 11i server was located. Some augmentation of resources like PCs printers, up-gradation of the bandwidth was required. EIL had already accounted for and arranged for the Software Licenses for ERP RDBMS Products for all group companies in the country. Fresh investment called for was related to the Fees payable to the Project Manager and the visits by the EIL functional team for implementation. How well the project met its investment objectives and what mechanisms would you suggest to allow ongoing evaluation of benefits realization? The Project Objectives were met very well. A fresh Bill of Materials was designed for regular items to be produced. Items requiring design development were defined separately in BOM. While this introduced some redundancy in the BOM, this resulted into reduction of many duplicated items from the BOM and thereby, from the stock. This drastically reduced the investment needed in Inventory. Items needed for development production were segregated such that production items do not get consumed in development vice-versa. The production cycle was mapped to a production process that had certain in-between milestones where items were issued and quality checks were performed. This resulted in reducing the number of days for which an item was stocked and also, control further movement of the semi finished product in case of a quality problem, such that the same could be reprocessed, rechecked for quality and forwarded only if the quality problem was resolved. Earlier the quality problem got detected only at the end of production cycle resulting in much more wastage of material, labor overheads. Marketing Manufacturing had more informed and accurate judgment of the cost and time estimates for a product at the time of accepting an order. Improved control over production process along with more accurate promise of delivery resulted in 90% on time deliveries. In case of a quality problem, only the immediately preceding steps needed to be repeated upsetting only that part of the process as against upsetting the entire process earlier. This also resulted in fewer rejections or defects in the production. Linking Sales Order right from planning stage till invoice dispatch advice virtually eliminated misplaced deliveries or wrong products being delivered. With more accurate accounting and posting of transactions, carrying out physical stock taking less frequently was also a possibility. All this was accompanied by a complete visibility over entire production process to the plant head. In this way, the project actually exceeded the anticipated benefits. Post implementation, certain benchmarks for performance were decided and periodically the cumulative actual performance was measured based upon these benchmarks. For example, Regular and extra hours needed for given quantum of production, reduction in inventory, on time delivery %, i. E delivery performance, value added during a period. Appropriate reports were designed and made available to the Finance Controller, Plant Head and the CEO. The effectiveness of stakeholder engagement activities during the project. Employees and Heads of all Departments including the Plant Head the Finance Controller were among the stakeholders. However, the main stakeholder was the CEO – he had sanctioned the investment, worked out what benefits to expect how, had a calculation of no of days within which the changeover had to be completed (termed Black Out period) and regular operations resumed on the new system. Business associates were not to be caused any disturbance due to the change over (excepting a blackout period of 5 days) and above all, a project of a given size and complexity affecting every employee in every corner of the organization had to be completed as scheduled with mathematical precision. The main stakeholder that is the CEO took a lot of interest and a keen interest in every aspect of the project. He participated in understanding, reviewing approving the requirements formulated, understood how the prototype presented offered to fulfill these requirements, he provided directions to the project team and other employees regards various activities related with the project, intervened whenever a help was sought in anticipation of a bottleneck or a deviation apprehended from the plan. He always had a positive contribution to offer in terms of identifying typical scenarios that might be encountered or regards the training of the end users or in ensuring 100% and timely attendance of the members in all project events. This propagated a clear message across that the project has to be completed, on time and with contribution from everyone with no exception and zero tolerance. He always supported implementation of new ideas like maintenance of Time Sheets for the Project Team or conducting tests to assess the learning of the trainees. He mandated the contribution to this project by an employee be counted during the periodic appraisals. In all his communications with the employees he never failed to stress the importance of the project, praising efforts of those who did well and pulling up the laggards, warning them to come up to expectations. He studied every fortnightly report with interest and took appropriate action based upon the same in time. He also attended every review presentation and tried to bring out the maximum from everyone. He ensured that not only he himself but also the Plant Head and Finance Controller provided immediate response to Project Team Members for any help or intervention desired. The same spirit was displayed both by the Plant Head as well as by the Finance Controller. They arranged for all required resources to be made available for the team. What provision was made during the development phase to facilitate roll-out during the implementation stage, and how effective this was ? Many provisions were made during the development phase to ensure a smooth roll out during the implementation stage. The provisions were related with the systems as well as with the operations. Systems : A training to the EACL Consultants was provided on the product right at the beginning of the project. Thereafter they were closely associated with the corresponding members of the CIL Team in related functions to learn from them. They were asked to take up the initiative to develop the Operational Manual for their functional area which was reviewed and finalized in consultation with EIL Consultants. They were made responsible for testing the prototype against the requirements by way of test data, preparing test data visualizing typical exceptional â€Å"scenarios† that might be encountered, carrying out an integrated testing covering certain transactions encompassing all functional areas and finally, the load testing to assess the capability of the infrastructure to sustain the number of concurrent users envisaged. They also imparted training to the end users so that they are better prepared themselves and develop a sound knowledge. They also assessed the performance of the end users by setting up question papers for these trainees. Hardware and Software requirements considering the eventual number of users was reviewed and necessary enhancements were carried out to make the infrastructure adequate for live run. Document forms and preprinted stationery in line with the standardization requirements were designed and procured in time before the switchover. Menu Access Permissions and Transaction Authorization Set Up was designed and set up in the software. Operations : There was a blackout period required to complete the processing in the old system, transfer the balances masters to the new system and resume operations in the new system. The CEO insisted that this must not exceed 5 days failing which the business may be adversely affected. As regards the provisions made in operations, certain actions were planned to be taken and completed before the commencement of the blackout period e. g. clearing deliveries against all sales orders. Certain actions were suspended for the duration of the blackout period i. e. placing fresh purchase orders or accepting deliveries. All Business Associates were informed about the changeover and the black out period preceding it to enable them to plan their activities accordingly. A detailed meeting was conducted between the Project Team, Finance Controller and the Plant Head along with all Departmental Heads and an elaborate plan of action naming the concerned responsible person was chalked out well before the beginning of the black out period. This eventually resulted into a smooth changeover with no adverse impact on the Business associates – all within a black out period of 3 days against the 5 days planned. How effective were the governance and reporting arrangements, particularly in assuring delivery to time, budget and quality, and how were key stakeholders involved – both formally and informally – in these arrangement ? There was plenty of information maintenance and reporting but the tempo set by the project never made it look like a burden. Plenty of reporting was carried out to different groups in different ways. Firstly the Project Team was made to sit close to each other to facilitate communication between them. There used to be a meeting among the team members everyday where required information on current status against the plan was exchanged. In addition, the Team Members submitted a Time Sheet giving hour wise break up of total activities planned for the day and actually carried out This constituted a critical input regards the progress of work and helped in promptly identifying potential bottlenecks and deviations for initiating suitable action. In addition, there was a meeting every day between the Project Teams of EACL CIL even if they were not at the same location. The Project Manager had a daily round of appraising the Program manager about the status of activities. In addition, Project Manager maintained a day wise information on different event / developments in the project and periodically shared the same in confidence with the Program Manager by way of an informal reporting. A weekly progress report was submitted by the Project Manager to the CEO, Plant Head, Finance Controller, Program Manager, Infrastructure Manager. Both the progress along with the anticipated bottlenecks along with remedial action planned were reflected in the report. Periodic Presentations were delivered to CEO in presence of all Departmental Heads including the Plant Head Finance Controller wherein the progress, forthcoming activities and anticipated problems and their solutions were discussed. A Centralized Project Database was maintained by IT Group at US for all IT Projects initiated worldwide. Periodically at the end of every milestone all relevant documents as prescribed in the Project Methodology were submitted to this database. This was followed by a presentation made to the Steering Committee Members comprising of senior personnel from EACL, CIL US HQ. Only upon receiving approval for a phase, the next phase was entered into. Daily interactions with Project Team with the help of Time Sheets led to assessment of the progress. Interactions between two Project Teams brought out further tasks to be initiated and provided an idea about the time estimates and criticality. Reporting to Program Manager, CEO Steering Committee resulted in receiving guidance regards the project and eliminating the bottlenecks and problems. Presentations with CEO ensured cooperation from all Departments. Thus every formal or informal communication or reporting had served its intended purpose. Besides this, there always was a freedom to make a need based call to anyone with appropriate response and action sure to come by. While the project involved a lot of work, called for detailed planning and close monitoring and had many complexities, it was also not without the lighter moments. Following every milestone, there was required to be a get together of the Project Teams and he Departmental Heads where a lot of formal and informal interaction used to take place making its own contribution to the success of the project. Scheduling such a get together following each milestone was also a part of the project plan and a subject of Project Review ! The project management methodology used and its contribution to the success (or otherwise) of the project. The Project Management Methodology followed was one that was developed by the IT Department of the Corporate IT Group itself and broadly, it was a prototype oriented methodology. It was a tried and tested methodology already put into practice at the group companies within the country. Among the very first activities in the project was to depute the Project Manager for undergoing a training on this methodology and specifically, the documentation which was standardized across all companies in the world within the group. This methodology made everything so simple to understand and help ensuring that once we start religiously practicing the methodology, we did not miss out on anything in the course of the project. Particularly noteworthy in the methodology was a process of IT Requests Management. It handled the entire process from initiating an it request to providing all required details about it to seeking and enabling required authorizations, assigning the work till completion, testing certification of the results, configuration management and finally, approving the satisfactory completion of the IT Request by the request initiator. Entire process was handled by a software, which facilitated electronic approvals to the requests. This process accepted only those IT Requests which were backed by relevant details, having appropriate authorization from the concerned departmental heads, feasibility assessment by the Functional Technical Consultants, approval by the IT Program Manager assignment of the same to functional / technical consultant for compliance. Once completed, the relevant software was tested on a separate system, approved by the IT Program Manager and only thereafter the software was allowed to be transferred to the production server. Finally the initiator of the request was required to confirm that the request has been complied with to his satisfaction – a precondition for treating it to be completed. Thus Change Management was appropriately controlled in the project. The Documents to be maintained for the project related with the quality aspects, risk assessment and mitigation, investments, benefits anticipated, project plan, impact on IT Infrastructure currently in use, manpower currently deployed so on – in short, touching all aspects that are concerning the project. The Group IT Dept at US had a Project Document Repository where the documents were required to be posted before each Steering Committee Meeting. This enforced appropriate handling of quality, risk, time, investment, benefits other aspects to be clearly defined beforehand and their achievement during the course of the project. The Project phases also included a Post Production Review phase where the post implementation benefits were compared with the anticipated benefits. As regards this project, requirements were collected and a prototype developed so as to fulfill the requirements. The prototype was demonstrated and further tuned based upon the feedback of the end users. Next, the prototype was given to the end users for testing – testing with test data, testing with specific â€Å"scenarios† prepared to test typical conditions or situations anticipated. This was followed by an integration testing i. e. testing encompassing multiple functions to test the integration and finally, the load testing to measure the adequacy of the infrastructure to support the given number of users as envisaged. After such exhaustive testing and based upon the feedback received, the prototype was fine tuned and the software set up for production. Conclusion : The Oracle 11i e Business implementation was already planned as to what needs to be implemented, how and within what time ! It touched almost all employees in all functions at all offices of the organization. The time allowed for changeover was limited to 5 days. The in-house Key Users were with no major exposure to IT and especially, ERP. Every milestone was required to be reviewed and approved by the IT Team at US the Steering Committee. All this called for a very detailed planning and an extremely time bound execution with hardly any scope for deviation. The eventual consolidation with Group Headquarters and visibility over complete data by them made it totally transparent to them, also making quality assurance a pre-requisite. Obviously with most of the major investment having already been made, the project was required to be completed within the budget. To ensure a smooth implementation, major thrust came from the CEO and continued throughout the implementation. The determining factor that led to the success of the project was the high motivational level of the project team which could be raised and sustained throughout the project. Once this was achieved, execution of every project activity became a simple affair. Another major factor was the anticipation of bottlenecks and problems raised by the Project Manager initiation of actions to control the same. Emphasis on preparation and testing of scenarios eliminated chances of facing any surprises after the implementation. Detailed planning carried out for the black out period was a significant step in ensuring a quick and smooth changeover. Thus the Project was a grand success story !

The Solid Agricultural Company Essay Example for Free

The Solid Agricultural Company Essay There are at least as many styles of management as there are managers; nevertheless, most management styles fall into one of a few broad categories. Every manager’s style includes some means of making decisions and some means of relating to subordinates. Below are the five most common management styles. Autocratic: Autocratic or authoritarian managers lead unilaterally. They make decisions based on their own opinions and experience without taking the opinions of subordinates into account. Although authoritarian managers do not tend to be popular with employees, they make decisions quickly and efficiently. On the other hand, if an autocratic manager makes an error, the lack of input from others can make the consequences severe. Autocratic management tends to be successful in industries that rely on unskilled workers and have plenty of turnover, such as food service and retail. Highly skilled and personally motivated employees tend to chafe under this type of management. Consultative: Like autocratic managers, consultative managers make decisions more or less unilaterally. Unlike autocratic managers, these leaders prioritize communication with employees and take their needs into account alongside the needs of the business. Consultative management still allows the manager to make decisions efficiently; in addition, the emphasis on employee interaction tends to increase employee loyalty and reduce turnover. However, employees tend to become highly dependent on their manager. Consultative managers tend to be most successful in businesses that hope to retain employees for long periods of time. Many of the best office managers use this style. Persuasive: Persuasive managers maintain control over every aspect of the business indirectly. Instead of giving orders, these managers operate by explaining why tasks need to be carried out in a certain way. Employees tend to feel more involved in the decision-making process under this style; nevertheless, ultimate authority still rests with the manager alone. Persuasive management is a particularly helpful style when complicated tasks need to be carried out in the workplace. However, managers who rely too heavily on explaining every task in detail may see their businesses slow to a crawl. Democratic: While a persuasive manager explains every aspect of the decision-making process to his subordinates, a democratic manager actually includes his subordinates in the process. Democratic management relies heavily on two-way communication between management and employees. This style is particularly helpful when a decision requires specialized knowledge that the manager lacks; for instance, when making an IT-related decision, a manager may need to ask an IT specialist for input. Including employees in decision-making tends to improve job satisfaction and reduce turnover. Relying on employee input for every decision, though, can greatly reduce the efficiency of the business. Laissez-faire: In a â€Å"hands-off† management style, the manager acts as a motivator, mentor and guide to his subordinates. Individual employees manage their own sections of the business with minimal supervision. Perhaps surprisingly, this management style demands the most personal skill from the manager: If he can effectively communicate a strong vision for the business and guide his subordinates with broad expertise, a laissez-faire manager can bring out the best in his workers. Highly professional, self-motivated employees, such as salesmen and engineers, can benefit greatly from this style. Although most managers tend to fall into one of these five categories, the most successful mangers can draw from several styles depending on the situation. Within a single office, some circumstances may call for an autocratic decision, others may call for democratic involvement from subordinates and still others may require a hands-off approach. Managers who make an effort to learn all five styles can succeed in any setting.

Titration of Amino Acids and Peptides

Titration of Amino Acids and Peptides Titration is the process used to analyze the acid-base behaviour of amino acids and peptides. A 0.25 g sample of unknown amino acid and aspartame were transferred quantitatively to separate 250-ml Erlenmeyer flask. 20.0 ml of distilled water was added to each flask using a volumetric pipette then the flask was swirled to dissolve the samples. Small increments of 0.200 M HCl were added to both samples to produce an acidic solution and then each sample was titrated by adding 0.200 ml of 0.200 M NaOH. The pH of the acidic solutions was measured from 1.5 until it reaches pH 11 and it was recorded in every addition of the base. On the Aspartame, the total volume of the base added was 8.0 ml and 29.6 ml on the unknown amino acid. Titration curves were constructed based on the pH values and volume added. The identity of the unknown amino acid was revealed to be Aspartic acid. A titrimetric profile of the amino acid and aspartame were drawn. INTRODUCTION Proteins are the most important class of biochemical molecules, next are carbohydrates and lipids. Proteins are the basis for the major structural components of animal and human tissue. Proteins are also the indispensable agents of biological function and amino acids are the building block of proteins. Amino acid is an organic compound containing an amino group (-NH2) and a carboxyl group (-COOH). Since amino acids contain both an acidic and a basic group, they undergo an intra molecular acid-base reaction and exist primarily in the form of a dipolar ion, or zwitterions. Amino acids are also amphoteric, meaning, they can react either as acid or base depending on the circumstances. There are basically 20 primary amino acids that serve as the backbone of most proteins. Peptide is a molecule that consists of two or more amino acid linked together by bonds between the amino group and the carboxyl group. Although their structures are less complex than the larger protein molecules, peptides have significant biological activities. Titration is a useful tool in determining the reactivity of amino acid side chains. Since amino acids contain an ionisable group, the predominant ionic form of these molecules in solution depends on pH. Titration of amino acid shows the effect of pH on amino acid structure. Titration is also useful in determining the isoelectric pH of the sample. MATERIAL AND METHODS A 0.250 g sample of unknown amino acid powder was placed on a 250 ml beaker using an analytical balance. 20.0 ml of distilled water was added to each flask using volumetric pipette and then the flask was swirled to dissolve the sample. Small increments of 0.200 M HCl were added to the dissolved sample using a syringe until the pH value is 1.50. Both acidified solutions were titrated by adding 0.20 ml of 0.200 M NaOH. The pH was measured and recorded at each amount of base that was added. The procedure was repeated until the pH of the solution reached 11.0. Same process was done using commercial aspartame. Titration curves of the unknown sample and that of aspartame were constructed using MS Excel. The unknown sample of amino acid was identified based on the pKa values and pI that were seen in the constructed titration curves. Titrimetric profiles of aspartame and the identified amino acid were drawn. Then the total percentage errors of the pKa and pI were calculated. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The unknown amino acid was recognized by comparing its experimental value to 20 amino acids. In able to do that, a titration curve must be drawn. The unknown amino acid was recognized as glutamic acid and it was determined based on its pKa and pI value from the graph. In the titration curve of the unknown amino acid, it can be observed that at the pH reading of 2.16, 10.3 and 4.4 the graph shows an inflection curve making it the pKa values of the unknown sample. These reading were compared with the pKa values the 20 amino acids and it was observed that the experimental pKa values were close to the pKa values of glutamic acid. Identity of Unknown Amino Acid: Glutamic Acid Percentage errors between the experimental and theoretical pKa values of the Unknown amino acid were computed and the results were 4.11 %, 6.51 % and 3.53 % and the percentage error between the pI values of experimental and theoretical is 6.32%. The possible sources of errors were probably the inaccurate weighing of the sample and the measurement in adding HCl/NaOH. During titration, the prototrophic groups lose H+ successively as the pH reach their respective pKa values. The net charge of glutamic acid at the start of the titration is +1 and as each group loses H+ the net charge will decrease by one unit. The acidified Aspartame solution was titrated using 0.200 M of NaOH. The titration curve above shows the inflection points. These points are 2.5, 10.5 and 3.4. The possible sources of errors were the inaccurate weighing of the sample and the measurement in adding HCl/NaOH is not precise. During titration, the prototrophic groups lose H+ successively as the pH reach their respective pKa values. The net charge of aspartame at the start of the titration is +1 and as each group loses H+ the net charge will decrease by one unit. Other possible source of errors on the experiment was the inaccurate plotting of pKa values on the titration curve. Wrong pKa will cause the identity of the unknown sample to be incorrect. The buffering zones of glutamic acid are at 2.16 and at 10.3. In aspartame, the buffering zones are at 10.5 and at 3.4. Both are suitable as buffers on acidic pH. Aspartame has a taste that is close to sugar. It enhances the flavour and does not cause the teeth to decay. There is a scientific study that shows that aspartame is beneficial in weight control and it is helpful for individuals with diabetes because it allows them to please their taste for sweets without affecting their blood sugar level. Aspartame can also result in fewer calories, which helps people with diabetes, manage their weight. Aspartame hydrolyzes into its respective amino acid when heated. There are also unpleasant side effects of aspartame utilization which includes loss of memory, seizures, headache, blindness, protruding eyes, palpitation, depression, insomnia, diarrhea and skin rashes. Aspartame blocks and lowers the levels of serotonin, tyrosine, dopamine, nor epinephrine and adrenaline. As a result, it is typical that aspartame symptoms cannot be detected in laboratory tests and on x-rays.

The Destruction of Innocence in Shakespeares Othello Essays -- GCSE E

The Destruction of Innocence in Othello      Ã‚  Ã‚   One way, albeit a partial way, of reading the tragedy of 'Othello' is too see it as the destruction of innocence, trust, and idealized love by a cynical and maliciously motivated worldliness, which regards the very existence of innocence and beauty as its motivation: 'the divinity of hell'. Iago's manipulative malignity is a crucial factor in the tragic catastrophe but it also serves to highlight through contrast the alternative values in the play, amongst which one can include innocence and naivety. In the argument below innocence is understood to be inexperience of the world but also that which is separated from evil. Naivety has the meaning of gullibility, even folly but more positively is the condition of the child, trusting, artless and unaffected by the cynical questioning and deceit which characterizes the worldly. Shakespeare portrays naivety and innocence principally, but not exclusively, through the characterization of Desdemona and Othello, and through a whole range of dramatic techniques: their language, behavior, their interaction with other characters, the imagery applied to them etc. The portrayal of the qualities is a complex one which is significant in the following ways. Firstly, the vulnerability of innocence and naivety helps drive the play towards its tragic conclusion, although it is matter of debate whether the principal cause of the catastrophe is the vulnerability of innocence or the ingenuity of wickedness. Secondly, the values of innocence and naivety comprise values which are dramatized in opposition to those represented principally by Iago; each illuminates the other. This is one of the conflicts central to the dramatic action. The contrast betwe... ...'s Othello. Ed. Anthony G. Barthelemy Pub. Macmillan New York, NY 1994. (page 1-19) Bloom, Harold. "Introduction" Modern Critical Interpretations, Othello Ed. Harold Bloom, Pub. Chelsea House New Haven CT 1987. (1-6) Hale, Steven. Class lectures. Georgia Perimeter College. April 20th -30th, 1999 Jones, Eldred. "Othello- An Interpretation" Critical Essays on Shakespeare's Othello. Ed. Anthony G. Barthelemy Pub. Macmillan New York, NY 1994. (page 39-55) Muir, Kenneth. Introduction. William Shakespeare: Othello. New York: Penguin Books, 1968. Neely, Carol. "Women and Men in Othello" Critical Essays on Shakespeare's Othello. Ed. Anthony G. Barthelemy Pub. Macmillan New York, NY 1994. (page 68-90) Snyder, Susan. "Beyond the Comedy: Othello" Modern Critical Interpretations, Othello Ed. Harold Bloom, Pub. Chelsea House New Haven CT 1987. (page 23-37)

The Debate Over Euthanasia Essay -- Euthanasia Death Argumentative Ess

The Debate Over Euthanasia The controversy over euthanasia has recently become highly publicized. However, this issue is not a new debate. Society has voiced its opinions on the subject for hundreds of years. Euthanasia, which is Greek for "good death", refers to the act of ending another person’s life in order to end their suffering and pain.1 Two forms, passive and active euthanasia, categorize the actions taken to end the person’s life. Passive euthanasia involves removing a patient’s life support, withholding food and water, and discontinuing medical treatments. Active euthanasia includes any direct action taken to cause the death of the person, such as administrating a lethal drug.2 The debate over this issue stems from moral, ethical, and religious beliefs. All of these standpoints either side with the patient dying a natural death or from an accelerated death by euthanasia. History Throughout history, euthanasia has been used as a way to relieve a patient from an incurable illness or from living a life of unbearable pain. Many cultures, such as the ancient Greek and Roman civilizations, did not oppose one’s decision to end his life rather than living with agonizing pain.3 During this time period, this choice was commonplace. A few ancient philosophers, who believed that the ending of a human life belonged to the gods only, met it with objection. When the Christian era began, the subject was rarely discussed or practiced because of the strong trust and faith held in God and his divine command. It was not until the eighteenth century Enlightenment period that new ideas favoring euthanasia were put forth by philosophers and other prominent figures such as Samuel Williams and David Hume.4 By the close of the 1800’s... .... - "Euthanasia: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions," International Anti-Euthanasia Task Force, 2 March 1999, http://iaetf.org/index.htm (8 March 1999). - Euthanasia and Physician Assisted Suicide: All Sides of the Issues, 3 March 1999, http://www.religioustolerance.org/euthanas.htm(4 March 1999). - Green, James T. The Effects of Chemotherapy, 22 January 1999, http://www.databaun.com/jamez/writing/chemo.html(2 March 1999). - "Interview With Timothy Quill M.D.," Frontline/WGBH Educational Foundation, 1998, http://www2.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/kevorkian/medicine/quill2.html(4 March 1999). - Larue, Gerald, Th.D. Playing God: Fifty Religions Views on Your Right to Die Wakefield, NJ: Moyer Bell, 1996. - Manning, Michael M.D. Euthanasia and Physician Assisted Suicide. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1998.

Physician-assisted Suicide is Murder Essay -- Euthanasia Essay

Jeanette Hall once had the desire to die; a desire so strong, she even asked her doctor for help. Jeanette lives in Oregon, where assisted suicide is legal. On July 17, 2000, Jeanette was rushed to the Portland hospital only to be given a maximum time of survival: six months. She had been diagnosed with an inoperable form of colon cancer. Jeanette had a fear of losing her job, not being able to care for her loved ones, paying hospital bills, and suffering. It was her choice to die and was prepared to reject chemotherapy and radiation, but thankfully, Jeanette’s doctor, Dr. Kenneth Stevens, encouraged her to fight. Jeanette claims, â€Å"If he [Dr. Stevens] believed in physician-assisted suicide, I would not be here 13 years later to thank him, I would be dead† (Hall 1). Today, Jeanette is alive, happy, and healthy and speaks out against legalization, but because of the current legalization of physician-assisted suicide, she barely survived. Physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia are similar in the fact that they end lives of terminally ill patients, but they vary on where they are legalized. In 1997, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that there is no constitutionally protected right to physician-assisted suicide but left it to the individual states to regulate physician-assisted death (Ardelt 1). Although states still have the option to legalize assisted suicide, the federal government has made euthanasia illegal in every state. Euthanasia is only legal in Belgium and the Netherlands (Somerville 1). Euthanasia refers to the practice of ending the life of another person to relieve pain and suffering and is usually performed by a doctor. Legal in Montana, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington to terminal adults, physician-assisted su... ...s, 21 Jan. 2011. Web. 20 Feb. 2014. Rockett, Barbara. "Physician-assisted Suicide "in Direct Conflict" with Doctor's Role. "National Rights To Life News. National Rights to Life News, 1 Aug. 2012. Web. 10 Feb. 2014. Saad, Lydia. "U.S. Support for Euthanasia Hinges on How It's Described." U.S. Support for Euthanasia Hinges on How It's Described. Gallup, 29 May 2013. Web. 10 Feb. 2014. Somerville, Margaret. "What Would We Lose by Legalising Euthanasia?" ABC.net. American Proadcasting Corporation, 24 May 2013. Web. 24 Feb. 2014. "Sunday Dialogue: Choosing How We Die." The New York Times. The New York Times, 30 Mar. 2013. Web. 24 Feb. 2014. Swarte, Nikki B. "Effects of Euthanasia on the Bereaved Family and Friends: A Cross Sectional Study." Home. BMJ, 17 June 2003. Web. 10 Feb. 2014. "The Impact of Euthanasia on Society." Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2014.