Creamlines Distribution System Essay Example

Creamlines Distribution System Essay Business! For Everyone! Creamlines ice cream products are indeed delicious, but you wont find them in your favorite supermarket. This is because Creamlines primary distribution system is the network of sari-sari stores scattered all over the country, says Martinez. As its contribution to nation-building, says Madrid, Creamline has come up the Instant Negosyo concept. For a small amount of money, a sari-sari store owner can be a retailer of Creamline products. All he needs to do is purchase P3,000 worth of ice cream products and Creamline will provide him with a freezer on loan. No expense. The only expenditure is putting the product. The content is P3,000. Of course, you must have a store and good location. In a way, we are giving jobs to everyone, says Madrid. This is a good business opportunity for micro-entrepreneurs as well as overseas contract workers looking to start a small enterprise when they get home. For those with bigger capital to spare, Creamline also offers opportunities for dealers (who take care of the retailers requirements) and distributors (who take care of the dealers requirements). Creamline also offers franchises for those who wish to sell direct to consumers via scooping stations. These stations should ideally be located in such high traffic areas as schools, malls, and bus terminals. Leaving no stone unturned, the company also started sending out ambulant vendors in selected areas. We will write a custom essay sample on Creamlines Distribution System specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Creamlines Distribution System specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Creamlines Distribution System specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer More popularly known as sorbeteros, these vendors sell Creamlines Choco Bulilits, Cream Cones, Cream Bars, and other ice cream products. Not surprisingly, Creamline has done quite well. The company is now operating nationwide, reaching out of Metro Manila and into Central Luzon, Southern Luzon, Cebu, Davao, and Cagayan de Oro, and garnering numerous fans along the way. If production is any indication, it would be good to note that the company has doubled its plant area since it opened its Pampanga anufacturing facility in 2004. In two years, says Martinez, Creamline plans to put up another manufacturing facility so that distribution will be even more efficient. In the future, Madrid says the company hopes to expand the business, penetrating new markets and developing new products while always giving value for money to their customers. If Creamline Dairy Corporation stays true to its core values of quality, affordability, accessibility, and consistency, then Madrid believes that it wo uld be a truly creamy success.

Effective communication in health and social care Essays

Effective communication in health and social care Essays Effective communication in health and social care Paper Effective communication in health and social care Paper Communication: The imparting or exchanging of information by speaking, writing, or using some other medium. (Oxforddictionaries.com, 2015) Interpersonal interaction is a communication process that involves the exchange of information, feelings and meaning by means of verbal and non-verbal messages, between two or more persons. (Ismail, 2014)   Communication is the transfer of information between people. It involves a sender, who is sending a message, and a receiver, who is hearing or seeing a message. The way we transfer this information is by speech (verbal communication), signals such as sign language or picture boards (special communication) or writing (non-verbal communication). This may be the exchange of thoughts, messages, feelings etc. Communication involves verbal, non-verbal, and unspoken ways of making sure our message is heard. The unspoken ways include facial expressions, which are smaller signs of the larger message we are trying to get across. For example a smile can indicate approval, whereas a scowl could indicate disgust or disagreement. The process of communication can be made complicated by many things, such as language differences, cultural background, gender, education, special needs/disabilities etc. Communication is important as it plays a vital part in our survival. Our dependency on our ability to communicate is a very important factor in our survival and success as humans. for example a in a nursery a baby cries when it is hungry and needs to be fed. If this baby could not communicate with its nursery nurse then they would not know to feed it and therefore the baby would die of starvation. Another example is that humans communicate by warning each other of danger, like a teacher in a school telling a child not to eat something poisonous that they’ve found. If the teacher couldnt communicate with the child then the child may eat the poisonous thing and the child may need to have medical treatment with possibly terrible consequences. Communication is the exchange of information between people. This information may be the exchange of thoughts, feelings, messages etc. The way we transfer this information is by verbal communication, such as speech, special communication, such as sign language or picture boards, written communication, such as letters, computerised communication, such as emails or texts, or non-verbal communication, such as body language, facial expressions, hand gestures, eye contact. Effective Communication Communication is not just speaking however, it is also engaged listening and being able to understand the emotions of yourself and the person you are communicating with. Sometimes what we try to communicate gets lost in translation despite our best intentions. We say one thing and the other person hears another thing, ending is misunderstandings and possibly conflicts. This is why effective communication is important, to avoid the possibility of this happening. Learning effective communication, using theories such as Egan’s SOLER theory, and Argyle’s communication cycle, can help you improve the communication skills that enable you to effectively connect with others, build trust and respect, and feel heard and understood. You will know that the communication is effective when correct understanding is achieved between the sender and receiver of the information of the emotion and intentions behind the information. Effective communication is needed for different reasons in different scenarios for different purposes. For example: In a workplace, the boss will use effective communication to establish and maintain good working relationships with employees. They will have to use effective communication to help understand how their employees are feeling and asses their needs. They will use effective communication to ensure they get their point across in meetings so that everybody knows their duties and where they stand within the company. Effective communication is also important in a workplace to ensure safety in the work environment, for example whoever is in charge of the health and safety of the workplace will have to effectively communicate so they the employees know what to do in dangerous situation, for example in the event of a fire, because if the communication is not effective, the employees may not understand what they have to do resulting in possibly disastrous consequences when a dangerous situation arises. Effective communication is vital for those who work in the childcare sector, as the practitioners need to build and maintain good relationships with the children, their parents, and possibly other relevant authorities (such as social workers, health visitors, police etc.) This is because it is imperative that everybody is provided with the necessary information that they need, so the communication must be concise and clear. The practitioners must communicate effectively in order to gain and share information about the child and discuss care plans. Without effective communication the practitioners cannot engage productively with each other, resulting in the child possibly receiving the wrong care, and the needs of the child may not be met. The child must also engage in effective communication with practitioners to ensure that we know what their needs are, and how they are feeling. They must feel comfortable with the practitioner and build mutual trust and respect in order for them to be cared for properly. In a care home for the elderly, the care worker must communicate with the elderly in a friendly and positive manner. If the care worker was walking around and sharply asking each person: ‘You want tea or coffee?’ it would seem rude. The behaviour would come across as cold, disrespectful, and mechanical. The care worker should start off a conversation first, perhaps ask the person how their day is going, and then offer them a drink, giving them the options of the drinks available. This would give the elderly person the impression that the care worker is being friendly and doing the act out of kindness, not just carrying out a practical task of their job. either way, the person receives a drink, however the actions leading up to this determine how the person feels once the conversation has ended. You want to leave the person with the right feelings/emotions, and so ending the conversation in a friendly manner, such as saying have a nice day, shows that you value them. There are different types of communication, such as one-to-one or group communication, and different methods of communication that can be used, dependant on the setting in which they are going to be used in, and the purpose for communication. These are: Verbal When one person speaks and another listens. Used by care workers to find out information, responding to questions, provide support to others, reply to complaints etc. In verbal communication, the speaker analyses and interprets the information before responding, but not taking too long to respond. The communication cycle demonstrates that effective verbal communications consists of not only speaking, but engaged listening too. When practising good verbal communication, the conversation will be able to be continued with replies and obvious interest will be shown. When the communication is verbal its very important to make sure that you speak clearly and at a reasonable volume so that the person you are speaking to can hear what you say without feeling embarrassed if they dont understand. Another reason to speak clearly is so that a client can lip read if they need to. Non-verbal Communication without speech, such as facial expression, physical contact, hand gestures, eye contact and proximity. All of these contribute to how the message receiver interprets the message that the message sender is trying to put across. For example a care receiver may show the care giver, via body language and/or facial expression, that they are experiencing pain or discomfort, without the needs of speech/verbal communication. Similarly how if a care giver is within very close proximity of the person they are communicating with, it may give off the impression that they are being threatening, and make the person feel uncomfortable. Non-verbal communication can be very helpful to those with disabilities, as gestures and signs can be universal, however there can be problems if gestures are misinterpreted, not understood, or mean different things to different people. Nonverbal communication should reinforce what is being said, not contradict it. If you say one thing, but your body language says something else, your listener will likely feel you’re being dishonest. (Helpguide.org, 2015) Computerised Computerised communication is the use of technology for communicating with others, such as via email. Emails can be both formal and informal depending on their purpose. Using computerised communication provides a fast way of sending messages to others, that can be received within a matter of seconds, as opposed to posting a letter and having to wait days for it to be received/replied to. In addition to the speed, graphics, sounds and videos can also be exchanged via computerised technology. Computerised technology may be used in a doctor’s surgery to exchange information between a general practitioner and a consultant/hospital they are referring a patient to. A good advantage of computerised communication is that you are not face-to-face and therefore you have longer to analyse and prepare a response, whereas in face-to-face verbal communication you must reply relatively fast or you may come across as rude. However, along with the advantages of computerised technology, there are disadvantages too, such as if the person you are trying to communicate with via email, for example, is not trained to use computers, and problems can arise if information is not kept confidential. Written Written communication is similar to verbal, however it is written down on paper/on a computer. When using written communication the accuracy of what is written is extremely important. Formal records must be kept accurate and to date It must be correct and legible, as inaccuracies can lead to lead to complaints, incidents not being addressed, people being given the wrong treatment, or given the wrong information, which may lead to disastrous results which you can be held accountable for. Written communication could be used in a school, where the pupils information, such as parent contact number, home address, or any medical issues the school needs to be aware of, could be recorded and put on the computer systems. A strength of written communication is that there will always be written proof of what has been said. Special(Sign language, Braille, Choice boards) Special forms of communication such as braille, sign language and choice boards can be especially useful to those with sight or hearing difficulties, or foreign people. However there can be issues if both parties are not trained in the method. Special communication, such as choice boards, could be used in a school with disabled children, when the children are choosing, for example, what they would like to eat, but have speech difficulties. In this situation group or one-to-one communication could be used, depending on the circumstances. Sign language, such as British Sign Language or Makaton, could be used in a day care centre for people with hearing difficulties, to communicate in a wide range of everyday conversations. An advantage of special communication is that people that have any disabilities can still communicate with others and say what they want to say. An advantage of British sign language is that it’s not reliant on money or technology, as people can just use their hands. However, a disadvantage is that the person receiving the sign language message must be able to understand British sign language too, or there will need to be a translator who understands British sign language to translate the sign language to the person they are trying to communicate with. Formal Formal communication is used in many health and social care situations, as it is understood by the majority of people and usually doesnt create communication barriers in the ways which other forms of communication, such as informal language, might do. Formal communication shows respect to the people you are communicating with. When someone enters a reception desk, for example in a day care facility, we expect to be greeted politely. If we were greeting with something like what do you want then it would cause offense and would be seen as very rude. However, the degree of how formal the language is differs between the situation in which it is being used in, and the care worker must adjust the way they are speaking depending on which situation they are in. If someone speaks too formally they may put the person they are talking to on edge and make them feel uncomfortable, but if someone is being spoken to too informally, then they may feel as if they are not being taken seriously or being respected. Informal Informal communication is used between people who know each other well, for example friends and family. Friends and family may use jargon between one another that others would not understand, therefore wouldnt be suitable to use with other people, such as slang words only used locally, which someone from another part of the country may not understand. Very informal language would be inappropriate to use in many health and social care settings, such as in a doctors surgery, as this would create communication barriers between yourself and the patient, and you may come across as impolite. For example, it would be acceptable when a patient enters a doctors office for the doctor to greet them formally, address them as Mr or Mrs, and shake their hand in a respectable tone at a volume that is not too quiet for the patient to hear, but not too loud that you are shouting at them. If, when the patient entered the room, the doctor said Alright mate hows it going? It would not be surprising if the patient was taken aback, and offended at the doctors speech. In addition to the use of informal language possibly being seen as impolite, using slang/jargon with someone from another country, who may not speak English as their first language, could also create language barriers between the two of you. The person may feel uncomfortable as they do not understand what you are saying and there could be misunderstandings and misinterpretations of what is being said. Another precaution that needs to be taken by care workers who work with people with special needs is how they word things, for example using phrases such as â€Å" pull your socks up† to mean something along the lines of ‘pull yourself together’, could be taken literally by, for example, autistic people, and this could confuse them a lot. For example: one-to-one verbal communication would be best suitable in a setting like a doctor’s office, between the patient and the doctor, as the conversation would be about one specific person and their problems/needs, and the doctor will be responding to just that one individual by prescribing a medication, or describing a solution to that person’s specific issue. The doctor may then use computerised communication to contact a hospital or consultant that they would like to refer the patient to, or to prescribe a specific mediation for the patient. One-to-one verbal communication would also be used in a setting such as a teacher/parent school meeting, discussing a specific child, as what the teacher is saying only concerns the parents of that individual child, or if the teacher is concerned about a student but it is not essential that the teacher speaks to the parent face-to-face, then they may use written communication to send a letter home, or use computerised communication to email the parent. Whereas, a setting where a group interaction using verbal communication may be more appropriate would be a group therapy setting, as the clients in the therapy session may be more likely to open up and express themselves if they are around peop1le of similar situations. In a group interaction, all participants must want to be involved for it to work. It is important that the correct emotional atmosphere is set, as sometimes people may feel threatened if they have to speak within a formal group of people, or they might stay quiet because they are worried about other people’s reactions. When speaking in a larger group of people, you should not discuss confidential information and/or problems about any of the participants that they may have shared with you in the past, unless they themselves bring it up and share it with the rest of the group. If one particular member of the group is not participating, it may be helpful to give them some gentle encouragement, however you must be careful that it does not seem like you are pressuring them to talk, and they only should if they feel comfortable doing so. Likewise, if everybody is talking at once people wont be able to listen properly and the communication is not effective. When communicating in a group it is important that everybody can see each other clearly. This is because being able to see each others facial expressions and body language plays a huge part in effective communication; an example of this would be all sitting in a circle facing each other. This is very important because it will develop a positive group feeling and people will be able to decode the messages in each others facial expressions and gestures. If people are sitting in rows behind one another, they cannot see each others facial expressions or body language, making the communication less personal and making the group communication, as a whole, a lot harder than it needs to be. Type of interpersonal interaction Explained Speech Speech is the verbal means of communication, consisting of how speech sounds are made (articulation), the rhythm of speech (fluency), tone, pitch and volume. The fluency of speech is very important in the care setting as hesitations or stuttering can affect communication as the other person may not understand you, as is articulation, such as children must learn to pronounce their r sounds, in order t say three not thwee. For example if a doctor was stuttering and their articulation was poor, the patient may mishear what the doctor is saying, for example their medication dosage, and may overdose as a consequence of this misunderstanding. When someone is unable to produce certain speech sounds correctly or fluently, or has problems with their voice, then they have a speech disorder. Language Language is different to speech. Language is made up of socially shared rules such as the meaning of words (like the word â€Å"right† can mean either correct, or the opposite of left.), how to put words together to make sentences, and what words are best in different situations, like if a nursery teacher was talking to a child they would use simple sentences with basic words, so that the young child can understand them. When a person has trouble understanding what others are saying to them, or sharing their thoughts, ideas, and feelings completely (expressive language), then they have a language disorder. Posture Your posture is an important part of communication, and can affect how you are perceived by others. An open posture expresses friendliness and positivity. In an open posture you will be sitting up straight with your feet spread apart, and the palms of your hands facing outwards. Your chest will be exposed (arms not crossed etc) and you will face the other person during conversation. University of Northern Iowa College of Business Administration notes that people with open postures are perceived as being more persuasive than those with other postures. (livestrong.com, 2014) Crossing your arms across your chest, crossing your legs away from someone, sitting in a hunched forward position, showing the backs of your hands and clenching your fists are all signs of closed posture, and may give the impression of hostility, boredom and detachment. Facial expression Facial expressions are subtle signs of the larger message we are trying to send. A simple smile can show approval and acceptance, whereas a scowl could portray the feelings of disgust or disapproval. Understanding facial expressions in very important in communication, as assumptions can be made about the facial expressions of the people communicating, possibly leading to misunderstandings. For example in a doctor’s office at the reception, if a patient is trying to make an appointment with the receptionist, and the receptionist is scowling at them, they may feel uncomfortable and as if the receptionist sees them as inferior. Facial expressions can also help communication, as over text things may seem rude or blunt, whereas if these things were said in person, with a smile on the senders face, the receiver would feel more at ease and that they are not meaning to come across as blunt. Touch Touch can be used to express empathy and understanding of another person. It can be used to show someone that you care and are there for them. For example if a nurse has to break some bad news to someone in a hospital, he/she may put their arm around the person to show that they are sympathetic and supporting them. Silence Silence is a good communication device when verbally communicating with someone. Leaving deliberate short silences can leave time for both parties to think about what has been said/what they are going to say next, and can improve the overall understanding of the conversation. For example if a teacher is telling off a child for someone wrong they have done, they may leave silences in between what they are saying, for the child to think and reflect on what the teacher has said, and what they would like to say next. The teacher may ask rhetorical questions to the child to prompt them to really think about what they have done, and leave silences after asking so that the child has time to think. Proximity Proximity can be both negative and positive when communicating. If someone is sittng very close to you it could portray intimacy and friendship, if you know the person well and have a good relationship with them. On the other hand it could be seen as threatening or intimidating, if someone you don’t know very well if talking to you very closely. This also depends on the context of the conversation and the other persons tone of voice. Reflective listening Reflective listening is the process of restating back to the speaker what they have said, both the feelings and the words. This is to allow the speaker to focus on what they feel and to show the speaking that you are trying to see things from their point of view, and to hear what they have said so they can focus on their feelings, encouraging them to continue speaking. Reflective listening does not involve introducing new topics or asking questions, it is used to help the speaker understand them and focus on their ideas. This is best used in counselling situations, as the counsellor can use reflective listening to make sure that the person they are counselling isnt just speaking constantly and rambling on, they can show to person that they are listening, and use filler words, like hmm to give the speaker time to think, and to show that the counsellor is paying attention. The counsellor could use words to encourage the speaker to carry on and elaborate on their feelings, helping the counsellor to understand the person and decide what actions to take/what to say to them, and helping the speaker express themselves and understand themselves more by speaking their feelings out loud.

KONE PLC Strategic Plan including digital marketing strategy Essay

KONE PLC Strategic Plan including digital marketing strategy - Essay Example An analysis of its market approaches shows that the firm has had its presence in Europe since its establishment. Additionally, the company has not used its capital accumulation to enhance its growth in other markets, unlike other firms that have targeted infant elevator markets. An analysis of its product and services shows that the company has provided dedicated its production line in people flow. Most of its products include automatic doors, auto walks, elevators, escalators, and access control systems. Its branding strategies have increased its target markets ensuring an increase in sales and capital accumulation. It also targets the service industry that has been rated as one of the fast growing markets globally. The diversity of products also assists in its competition strategies leading to its high ratings in the top global firms list. An increase in its main markets requires that the firm should adopt services such as digital marketing to ensure all customers in the markets (Asia, Europe, and the U.S) are covered without any delays. KONE GB’s mission statement is based on the safety of customers. Its dedication to people flow is the driving force for its production and product quality. The firm ensures that its products have undergone safety tests since they directly deal with the people. Ensuring maximum security and a smooth flow of people with flexibility and scalability is a mission statement that governs the employees in their production process. As a result, its products have been rated safest compared to its competitors. It has also incorporated advanced technology in its products to reduce the risks of breakdowns. In the values statement, the firm has engaged in class that is required in the service industry. For example, it has made attractive elevators and escalators that can be used in luxurious hotels and malls. They ensure that customers can customize their product; hence, acting as a strategy to increase its market

IKEA Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

IKEA - Assignment Example It came into existence in the year 1943 and within a very small time frame it attained a renowned brand image due to its modern architectural designs and eco-friendly nature. Due to which its revenue and operating income enhanced by â‚ ¬27.628 billion and â‚ ¬3.482 billion by the end of 2012 as compared to other rivals in the market. This marked the success of the organization of IKEA and so it expanded in many other parts of the world like Germany, Norway and Denmark (Inter IKEA Systems B.V, 2012). IKEA’S History IKEA is established in the year 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad, a young entrepreneur residing in Smaland of Southern Sweden. The name of the organization IKEA is derived from the initial letters of Ingvar Kamprad, i.e. I and K along with the first letters of his hometown, Elmtaryd and Agunnaryd. Ingvar Kamprad started his career in business by selling matches, pen, pencils, fishes, seeds and many others. However, slowly and gradually, he started offering high-level of concentration over IKEA and so presented varied types of advertisements in local newspapers to attract wide range of customers. Moreover, in order to make it a branded furniture retailing house, he presented varied types of attractive and stylish furniture’s such as beds, chairs, tables, home appliances and many others at a quite lowest price. This proved quite effective for the organization and helped Ingvar Kamprad to open his first store in Norway in the year 1963 and in Denmark in 1969 (Inter IKEA Systems B.V, 2013). After that, within a small time frame, IKEA expanded to other parts of Europe, Switzerland, Australia, Hong Kong, Canada, Germany, UK and many others. Therefore, by the end of 2009, IKEA group became successful to operate in more than 332 stores in 40 countries. Hence, IKEA took more than six decades to mark its position in the segment of trendy furniture’s among other retailers. IKEA Today Inspite of extreme economic downturn, IKEA maintained its popu larity and brand image in the market in a quite stable condition due to its objective to present qualitative products at a competitive price. Due to which, the leading leader of home furniture enhanced its total sales by ?2.15 billion and net income by ? 3.51 billion by the end of 31st August 2013. Along with this, the market share also increased from 7.3% in 2012 to 8.5% in 2013 in the market of UK. This became possible only due to its wide expansion into 332 stores in more than 40 countries in the entire globe (Inter IKEA Systems B.V, 2012). Other than this, the annual sales figure and sales per region is presented in the below graphs. Therefore, from the graph, it might be clearly depicted that the rate of sales of the furniture’s of IKEA is very high as compared to others. This enhanced the equity and profit margin to a significant extent among other retailers (Inter IKEA Systems B.V, 2013). 2. Macro-environment of IKEA In order to analyse the external environment of the market of UK, one of the most renowned technique is used. It is named as PESTEL analysis. Political Factors- the political scenario of UK is quite cacophonous due to the presence of inefficient bureaucracy and corruption. Other than this, the instable government policies and regulations also acted as a curse that hampered the growth of the organization of IKEA. Not only this, shaky coalition of the government of UK hampered the business scenario to a

Creative Destruction and Reconstruction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Creative Destruction and Reconstruction - Essay Example Now that I’ve practiced my profession for some time, and have realized that I wish to make some changes. The first thing that comes to my mind is that I want to become a real doctor, but I want to be able to practice the knowledge I have accumulated in my present career. I have made my research and discovered that from being a radiologic technologist, I can take additional courses so that I can engage in interventional radiology or even nuclear medicine. The reason I chose these two fields is because these have high demand not only in the U.S. but also in Europe. In a new analysis made by Frost & Sullivan, it was discovered that interventional radiology institutions have earned atleast $399.5 million in 2006 and estimates show that this can reach as high as $683.3 million by 2013 (Frost and Sullivan, 2011). Meanwhile, the nuclear medicine market was at $531 million in 1996 (Frost and Sullivan, 1998) is expected to reach $1.69 billion by 2015 (Global Industry Analysts, 2010). The best thing about engaging in these fields is that I can work not only as a specialist but as a researcher as well. With the improvement in healthcare information systems (HIS), I can work as a consultant, giving my advise in interpreting radiographs, as well as possible treatments. I can have the digital images sent through my office through the HIS and I can send in my recommendation through the same system. Moreover, I can be employed in one state and be called in for a consult if I advertise my services through the internet or have my service listed in a directory. Frost and Sullivan. (1998). Future of Nuclear Medicine, Part 1: Marketing Research Forecasts. The Journal of Nuclear Medicine, 39(2). Retrieved from http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/39/2/27N.full.pdf Global Industry Analysts, I. (2010). Global Nuclear Medicine Market to Reach US$1.69 Billion by

Mercury Problems In Oil And Gas Industries Environmental Sciences Essay

Mercury Problems In Oil And Gas Industries Environmental Sciences Essay Mercury is a natural occurring element and could be present in various stages of oil and natural gas exploration, production and processing. Mercury is not only hazardous to human health and the environment but could also attack process equipment components that have mercury reactive materials, leading to potential catastrophic failure to the plant. The mercury associated with petroleum and natural gas production and processing enters the environment primarily via wastewater, solid waste streams, and air emissions. Wastewater originates in production and oil refining operations in the form of produced water and wastewater respectively. The solid wastes are also generated in production (e.g. drilling muds), transportation (e.g. sludge), and refining operations (e.g. spent mercury adsorbent. The primary opportunities for mercury emission to atmosphere include fuel combustion for process utilities and fugitive emissions from process equipment. Several approaches have been used to reduce mercury emissions from oil and gas production and processing which include mercury waste treatment, recycling and disposal. Mercury is considered as a serious toxic heavy metal to both humans and the ecosystem because of its high toxicity to the central nervous system and the tendency to bio-accumulate in a human body [1]. Mercury is a natural occurring element and could be presenting varying concentrations and of various species in oil and gas fields [2]. It is freely distributed throughout production, processing, transportation and consumption systems. Table 1 shows the range of variations of the mercury content in oil and gas [3]. Wilhelm and Bloom [4] reported that the concentration of mercury in crude oil and natural gas varies between 0.01 ppb and 10 ppm depending on the geologic location, which may exist in three different forms, namely elemental (Hgo), inorganic (HgCl2), organic ((CH3)2Hg), and organo-ionic (ClHgCH3) mercury compounds. Several mercury species shown in Table 2 were detected in natural gas, gas condensate and crude oil. The properties of mercury species are difference in terms of mobility, reactivity, toxicity and bioavaibility [5]. Table 1 Range of Mercury Content in Oil and Gas Fields in the World [3]. Component Mercury Concentration Oil 0.003 21 mg/kg Condensate Gas 0.01 . 10-6 14 000 . 10-6 g/m3 The existing mercury in oil and gas can cause problems during oil and gas exploration, processing and transportation. This mercury needs to be removed from oil and gas streams especially from natural gas, in order to get pure product as well as to protect the process equipment and catalyst used in the downstream processes. For instance, it may cause mechanical failure and gas leakage of cryogenic aluminium heat exchangers. The mercury in the natural gas can degrade the aluminium coldbox materials by three basic mechanisms [Wilhelm, 1994]: amalgamation with various metals (primarily Al, Au, Ag and Zn), amalgam corrosion, and also liquid metal embrittlement (LME) [Coade and Coldham, 2006; Wilhem, 1994]. Besides, reported by Phannenstiel [7], mercury is pointed as a caused of corrosion in gas-gathering system at Groningen field in Holland [8]. Table 2. Approximate Natural Abundance Mercury Compound in Natural Gas and Gas Condensate [2]. Mercury Element Natural Gas Gas Condensate Crude Oil Hg0 >50 of total mercury >50 of total mercury >50 of total mercury (CH3)2Hg HgCl2 Rarely detected (10-50) % (10-50) % HgS Rarely detected suspended suspended HgO Rarely detected Rarely detected Rarely detected CH3HgCl Rarely detected Mining activities such as exploration and processing could also generate mercury waste generate mercury waste in the form of produced water, refinery wastewater, drilling waste, and associated wastes. The mercury wastes need to be treated and disposed due to the environmental and safety considerations. The failure to monitor and control the existing mercury in oil and gas can caused contamination on process facilities and mercury emission to water, soil and atmosphere [U.S. EPA, 2001] Mercury Removal Process From Natural Gas Mercury removal systems are most often located at gas processing facilities that produce the feedstock materials for downstream chemical manufacturing plants. It is properly designed and operated, to make sure the removal systems can scavenge mercury from the feed gas and reduce the impact of mercury on downstream processes [2]. Table 3 summarizes several methods used for mercury removal in natural gas processing. All these methods have limitations that detract from their applicability to natural gas processing [El Ela et al., 2006; El Ela et al., 2008]. Table 3 Mercury Removal Systems for Natural Gas [Bingham, 1990; El Ela et al., 2008 ]. Method Comments Chemisorption on sulfur impregnated activated carbon Most used, cheap; disposal problems Adsorption on activated carbon Low saturation loading Chemisorption on iodine impregnated activated carbon Good for high mercury concentrations Adsorption by amalgamation with a metal: Silver impregnated alumina, silver zeolites, metal sulfides and metal oxides High investment costs, high removal capacity Acid absorption of mercury chromic acid and acidic permanganate Increased corrosivity, through system contamination, low saturations Oxidizing solutions permanganate, sodium hypochlorite, and sodium vanadates Regeneration problems, system contamination Chemical reaction with H2S Increased corrosivity, limited H2S access Condensation and separation Poor removal efficiency, liquid contamination Stripping through liquid hydrocarbons Poor removal efficiency, liquid contamination The basic requirements for successful mercury removal are economics of the process and the removal medium needs to be capable to reducing mercury concentrations to extremely low and acceptable levels. The medium must have a high capacity for an active bonding to mercury so that they can retain the mercury in a form that can be disposed. The examples of commercial mercury removal systems are shown in Figure 1 (c,d), where the Salam mercury removal system is the most efficient removal method ever reported [9]. It is loaded with 19 tons of catalysts PURASPEC Absorbent 1156 (pre-activated sulfide) [El Ela et al., 2008]. Figure 1 (a,b) shows the mercury removal unit located in Malaysia which is the successful systems used to remove mercury from raw condensate [Sainal et al., 2007]. Figure 1. Joint Delivery System (JDS) mercury removal system situated in Kerteh, Terengganu, Malaysia (a), Resak Delivery System (RDS) mercury removal system situated in Kerteh, Terengganu, Malaysia (b), Mercury removal unit at Salam gas processing plant (c), Vessel loading diagram of Salam mercury removal unit (d) [El Ela et al., 2008; Sainal et al., 2007 ] Mercury Waste Generation A wide variety of waste streams contains of mercury generates from oil and gas processing. The mercury in produced hydrocarbons may escape to the environment by several avenues which are generally categorized as wastewater, solid waste streams and air emissions. During exploration and processing, wastewater originates from the produced water, refinery wastewater, drilling waste, and associated wastes (Ahmadun et al., 2009; Frankiewicz et al., 2000; U.S. EPA 2001). Solid wastes are also generated in production (e.g. drilling muds), transportation, refining operations (Juvkam-Wold, 1976; U.S. EPA 2001). Air emissions originate from fuel combustion for process utilities and fugitive emissions in the process equipment (Wilhelm, 1999; U.S. EPA 2001. These are the possible avenues of mercury to be transferred from produced hydrocarbons to the environment (Mussig and Rothmann, 1997; US EPA, 2001). Table 4 shows a wide variety of waste streams that contain mercury generated in conjunction wi th petroleum production and processing (Wilhelm, 1999). Table 4 Petroleum Processing Mercury Waste Streams [Wilhelm, 1999]. Type Matrix Mercury Sludge Hg++ Hydrocarbon Hgo, XHgX, HgS Sludge Water HgS, Hg++ Cleaning Solutions Water Hg++ inorganic compounds Cleaning Solvents Hydrocarbon Solvent Hgo, XHgX Hg Sorbent Carbon, Sulfur HgS, S, Organic compounds. Hg Sorbent Metal Sulfide, Alumina Hgo, XHgX, HgS, Cu, Al2O3 Hg Sorbent Zeolite, Ag AgHg Hg Sorbent Carbon, KI HgI2 Dehydration Fluid Triethylene glycol Hgo, XHgX, Hg++ CO2 Removal Water Hgo, XHgX, Hg++ KCO3 Sour Gas Treatment DEA, TEA Hgo, XHgX, Hg++ amines Catalysts Metal Hg amalgam Filtration Material Clays, Fibers Hgo, XHgX, Hg++ Debris Hgo, XHgX Produced Water Generally, in oil and gas production operation one of the upstream activities involves a primary separation of water, gas and oil followed by treatment of the produced water for discharge or re-use. Produced water is the largest waste stream generated in association with oil and gas production operations which contains various organic and inorganic components. It originates from water that is trapped in permeable sedimentary rocks within the wellbore. The separated water is either disharged (to an ocean, lake or stream) or re-injecting back into rock formations from whence it originated [Hayward Gordon Ltd.; Gallup and Strong]. However, some of the produced water is fairly fresh and is readily re-used for specific purposes such as agricultural, industrial, or treated water use [Sullivan et al., 2004]. There are some major components containing in produced water such as hydrocarbons and organic compounds (e.g. oil, grease, benzene, dissolved organic compounds such as napthalene, toluene, phenanthrene, and pentacholorophenol), salts (e.g. chlorides and sulfides of Ca, Mg, and Na), metals (e.g. lead, chromium, nickel, barium, manganese, iron, strontium, zinc, silver, cadmium, lithium, copper, mercury, arsenic, selenium, and boron), radionuclides and production chemicals [Frankiewicz and Gerlach, 2000; Sumi, 2005]. Moreover, produced waters are typically more saline and have total solid dissolved concentrations from less 100 mg/l to over 300 000 mg/l compared to sea water [Stewart, 2008; U.S. EPA, 2001]. Research by United States Geological survey reported that conventional oil and gas wells produce produced water that increases over time [Sumi, 2005]. In some states in United States, surface discharges of produced water is allowed and is used for stock and watering an agriculture. However, it can be problematic to the environment due to its highly saline nature and contaminated with mercury. Neff [18] reported that, about 8 pounds per year of total mercury are discharged with produced water. The dominant forms of mercury available in produced water are suspended mercury sulfide (HgS) and elemental mercury (Hgo) [2,13]. Similar forms of mercury are also found in produced water associated with gas production in the Gulf of Thailand [Frankiewicz and Tussaneyakul, 1997]. A treatment process to remove mercury from produced water prior to overboard discharge has been developed consisting of a three-phase separator to remove the gas and also condensate [Gallup and Strong, ; Sullivan et al., 2004]. Refinery Wastewater Refinery wastewaters streams typically contain vary widely chemical compositions having a large volume of water (per barrel of oil processed). Moreover, it also contains many regulated organic and inorganic contaminants (soluble or insoluble form) that can restrict its use and disposal thereof. In refineries, wastewater that entering the water treatment system is a composite of water discharge from processing units with different types and functions. The water streams from process units, cooling water and leakage in the system may contain some contaminated hydrocarbons [Veenstra et al., 2008]. The amount of mercury in refinery wastewater cannot be stated in certainty because of very little information is availably reported. The refinery biological water treatment generates several mercury compounds with a wide range of concentrations. The amount less than 5 percent of the total mercury concentration exists as a monomethylmercury, less than 0.01 percent as a dialkylmercury, and less than 0.1 percent as elemental mercury. Moreover, in a range of 10 to 30 percent exits as suspended particulate mercury with less than 10 percent as a labile Hg2+ and between 60 and 90 as an organochelated Hg2+. Reported by Bloom and Falke [21] that the concentration of total mercury in effluents from sewage treatment facilities is in the range of 5 to 20 ng/L. Drilling Wastes The exploration for oil and gas produces the drilling wastes which primarily consist of extracted cuttings and drilling muds. During drilling process, the drilling muds (also termed fluids) which inject into the well bore are identified as the sources of toxic materials that may discharges into aquatic environment surrounding offshore drilling operations [2,22,23]. Drilling muds is generally a viscous, heavy fluid designed to perform a variety of functions such as to transport rock chips (cuttings) from the bottom of the well up and out of the well bore, where the cuttings are screened and removed, and the separated mud is re-used. In addition, the drilling muds act to cool the drill bit, to stabilize the wells walls during drilling process and to control formation fluids that may flow into the well [23]. Besides, it also functions to minimize reservoir damage and limits corrosion. Most drilling muds are engineered slurries made up from drilling fluids, liquid-based mud (such as water-based muds, oil-based muds and synthetic-based muds), barite (optional additives), low gravity solids and treatment chemicals (bentonite clay) [23,24]. The drilled formation cuttings and barite contribute to the existing mercury as a trace mineral in drilling discharges. The concentrations of mercury in barite ores can vary widely from as little as 0.05 ppm to as much as 31 ppm. Moreover, mercury in drilling discharges is completely made of inorganic mercury which is extremely insoluble in water and not readily converted into organic methylmercury. The methylation process, which bioconverted mercury to methylmercury is dependent on several variables including an anoxic environment, low pH, presence of organic materials, low salinity, and warm temperatures. Associated Wastes The process of producing, treating, storing and transporting of oil and gas generates low volumes of a variety of wastes such as sludges, cleaning fluids, process treatment fluids, spent catalysts, spent removal system sorbents, debris and soils [12]. These wastes commonly known as associated wastes which are produced less than 1% of total volume of waste generated by oil and gas exploration and production [2]. Sludge is a semi-solid material tends to aggregate with mixture of one and more liquids and suspended solids. In hydrocarbon processing facilities, sludges are removed from tanks and vessels during maintenance and inspection. Mercury in hydrocarbon sludge is usually higher than the process fluid in the process stream. Since mercury has higher solubility in higher molecular weight organic compounds, it tends to accumulate in the sludges and turn out to be contaminant [12]. Solid wastes such as spent materials (i.e. spent catalyst and spent adsorbents) contain a significant quantity of mercury. The catalysts used in oil refining and chemical manufacturing accumulate mercury during their operations. The spent adsorbent obtained from the separation system, which is designed to remove mercury from gas, liquid and condensate has very high mercury content. Mercury also exists and contaminates the solvent used to liquefy sludge deposit in the process equipment and in process treatment of fluids for dehydration and sweetening processes [12]. Mercury Emissions to Atmosphere Air pollution has been linked to a number of significant problems such as ozone depletion, global climate change, acid rain, environmental degradation, and health effects in humans, plants, and animals. It is created by a number of different of sources and exits in a number of different forms. The point sources in industrial activities include chemical plants, oil refineries, power plants, hazardous waste incinerators and, oil and gas processing. It was estimated that the annual mercury emissions from oil and gas industry to atmophere in US is about 6,300 kg/year [2]. In natural gas industry, the emissions of mercury to the atmosphere could be through a glycol-overhead-gas. In the dehydration process, absorption liquids like glycols are used to absorb water and also mercury. On the elevated temperature, the glycol is regenerated and mercury is evaporated together with water. Therefore, the glycol-overheads containing mercury are released directly to the atmosphere [11]. In oil refinery, volatile and particulate mercury emissions to the atmosphere are claimed to generate mostly from the fuel combustion that are used to fire refinery process heaters and some amount from fugitive emissions. The fuels also include mostly gas and coke [25]. In refinery processing, catalyst is regenerated by using gas and some of the catalyst collect mercury and released it when regenerated. The gas from regeneration process which may contain higher amount of mercury than other typical gas flares is sent to flare [2]. Mercury Contaminated Facilities Mercury enters into gas gathering and processing facilities through the feed gas, from instruments used to measure gas properties and in used-catalyst. Several problems occur due to the existing mercury during the restoration. Mercury contaminated on steel surfaces and creeps by adsorbs into the micro-crevices and pore, although the temperature and pressure are at below condensation and without forming amalgams [11]. The pigging operations of mercury contaminated pipelines can generate sludge and debris that have high in mercury content [11,12]. Furthermore, during maintenance and cleaning activities, spillage of mercury from instruments contaminates buildings and soil [11,12]. Mercury Waste Treatment, Recycling, And Disposal Due to the extreme threat of mercury pollution, several remediation technologies have been developed, aim to remove mercury from wastewaters, although some works have targeted for mercury removal in gas phase. Mercury removal systems that are now prevalent for many processes which employ to protect equipment and catalysts for such systems depend on their chemical properties and process location [10]. Moreover, mercury waste can be treated and disposed by recovery; physical and chemical treatments, incineration and thermal process. Physical, Chemical and Thermal Treatments Physical separation methods depend on elemental mercurys high density and surface tension. This could be achieved by allowing segregation process to taking place. In contrast, mercury compounds differ from elemental since it cannot be physically separated. One of the examples of physical treatment is by using filtration equipment which employs to remove solid mercury from the waste streams. Removal and segregate waste mercury through equipment decontamination, soil remediation, fluid decontamination or disposal sludge processing are accomplished by using chemical treatments, precipitation treatment for filtration and aqueous extraction treatment. In addition, the thermal process (refer to distillation process) is used to remove mercury from the most mercury-contaminated area of oil and gas industry [11,12,26]. Several treatment processes have been developed to remove contaminants (i.e. mercury) from produced water prior to overboard discharge. The treatment processes involved re-injecting produced water back into rock formations from whence it originated. Figure 2 shows the original water treatment process based upon a sequence of stages according to the influent oil and solid content [27]. The first stage is characterized by a de-oiling unit, where water leaves the bottom of the separator and passes through desanding and de-oiling hydrocyclones. The water then enters the chemical treatment process followed by addition of an oxidant (NaOCl), ferric ions and a flocculant sequentially to form a floatable sludge consisting of ferric hydroxide, chemisorbed mercury, ferri-arsenate, and hydrocarbons (known as flotation units). The oxidation-reduction potential of the water is controlled by oxidant addition to allow Hg in elemental form [15,16]. There are several commercial processes available to prevent the mercury contamination at processing facilities. Table 5 summarizes the mercury removal systems for hydrocarbons and water which involve adsorption, chemical precipitation, ion exchange, iron cementation, membranes separation, and activated carbon adsorption [12]. Figure 2 Typical Produced Water Treatment [27] Recycling and Restoration The recovery process known as recycling or reuse method which involve a common process such as gravity separation, filtration, distillation, solvent, and chemical regeneration [28]. Physical methods could be neutralization, precipitation or separation and detoxification (chemical). Equipment decontamination is accomplished using chemical cleaning solutions that selectively oxidize complex elemental mercury deposits. These cleaning solutions consist of aqueous base solution having iodine as a complexing agent and organic solution (alcohol). In the case of incineration, the mercury contaminated waste is burnt at medium or high temperatures. For soil, sludge and debris must be thermally processed to remove mercury. The thermal process uses a vacuum, inert gas, or air as a carrier medium. However, if air is used, sulfur existed in matrix is converted to SO2 and hydrocarbons are oxidized to CO2 and H2O. Anaerobic thermal systems employ selective condensation and/or adsorption to separate sulfur and hydrocarbons from mercury. Spent adsorbent materials are also thermally processed using strictly anaerobic conditions to avoid exothermal reaction involving carbon [12,28]. As described above, mercury contamination can be preventing by using appropriate treatment processes. However, at the end of life cycle of gas installations, it may remain abandoned and need to be restored. For steel factories, scrap materials (i.e. tubings, flowlines, and facilities contaminated mercury) were cleaned before scrapping and added to steel production. Therefore, in European steel factories, the steel has to be cleaned or re-melting if the mercury contamination exceeds 2 to 10 mg per kg steel. In other cases, there are some processes available to clean mercury contaminated in pipelines and equipment such as sand blasting, high pressure water jetting, chemical process, milling techniques and also thermal treatment. Besides, the restoration or intermediate remediation of soil contaminated area is available with several soil cleaning methods [11]. Table 5 Mercury Removal Systems for Hydrocarbons and Water [12]. Method Process Comments Adsorption (Activated carbon, Sulfur, iodine impregnated carbon ) Mercury (Hgo) physically adsorbs and reacts to form non-volatile mercuric sulfide. Low saturation loading. Most used cheap, disposal problems. Prevalent wet collection To bubble gas (contain Hg) through permanganate solution. All Hg species convert to mercuric ion. Accurate, reasonably sensitive, increased corrosivity. Sulfide precipitation Sulfide reacts with ionic forms of Hg to form the insoluble mercuric sulfide and separated by filtration Increased corrosivity Ion exchange To remove ionic Hg from some waste streams. Regeneration problems, system contamination. Reverse osmosis treatment (semi-permeable membranes) Produce a clear permeate and a concentrate containing mercury Effective in treating specialized water streams Iron cementation (metal replacement process) Dissolved mercury cemented in a active metal (Zn or iron) Carried out in acid solution Disposal and Storage Waste materials that contain mercury need to be identified and characterized. They must be treated prior to disposal to avoid the long-term liabilities of burial or storage. Practically, all the mercury and contaminated materials should be accounted and collected because of the potential impacts of mercury into the environments. Removal of mercury from complex mixtures can be accomplished by combination of physical, chemical, immobilization, thermal, electrolytic and in-situ vitrification treatment methods. Sludge is one of the more difficult waste materials to process for treatment and disposal due to the existing of hydrocarbon in the matrix of sludge [12,28]. In the case of drilling fluid, it is often disposed of when a well is completed, and fresh fluid is used for any adjacent wells. Filtration processes have allowed drilling fluid to be reconditioned, so that it can be used for multiple wells before being discarded. Other possible uses for used drilling fluids are to plug-in the productive wells or to spud in new wells. Reuse of oil-based and synthetic-based drilling fluids to drill additional wells is common because of the high cost of the base fluids [29]. Mercury Emission Regulations Mercury is released through emissions from manufacturing, use or disposal activities. Environmental laws and regulations have been introduced by various regulatory bodies in order to protect the environment. Several specific laws such as Mercury Export Ban Act of 2008 and Mercury-Containing and Rechargable Battery Management Act of 1996 have been subjected related to mercury. In the case of environmental statutes such as Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and Safe Drinking Water Act, EPA has the responsibility to develop regulations to control some mercury emissions to air, water, or from wastes and products. The stringent regulations were recommended to set an upper-bound limit on the amount of mercury for any facilities. Besides, it is require for every power plant in the country to adopt the maximum available control technologies (MACT). The possible approaches of these MACT are to achieve the reduction in mercury emissions by setting the uniform emissions limits for existing facilities and more restrictive limits for new ones; and the mandatory emissions reductions with an emissions credit trading system. Concluding Remarks Mercury is often present in oil and gas with various concentration and species. Mercury is toxic to both human health and the environment. It also leads to the potential of plant failure. Mercury emissions from oil and gas exploration, production, and processing into the environment could be via wastewater (produced water, refinery wastewater), solid waste (drilling waste, refinery waste) and contaminated facilities. The mercury emissions to atmosphere originate from gas processing plant, flared gas refineries, and fuel burning for process utilities. To minimize the amount of mercury emissions, several techniques for monitoring and removal of mercury have been developed. These include segregation, treatment, recovery, and disposal of mercury waste in the process. In treatment process, it involves physical, thermal, and chemical processes to remove the contaminated mercury. The waste materials that contain mercury are usually treated to remove mercury prior to the disposal and storage . Concluding Remarks The financial support from the MOSTI under the e-Science Research Program (Project No. 03-01-06-SF0464) is gratefully acknowledged. Amin-Nejad S., Smith J.S., and Lucas.J (2003). A Visual Servoing System for Edge Trimming of Fabric Embroideries by Laser. Journal of Mechatronics, Pergamon Press, New York. ISSN 0957-4158. 13(6): pp533-551.

Love and Desire in A Midsummer Night’s Dream :: Midsummer Nights Dream

Love and Desire in A Midsummer Night’s Dream Some of the most prominent themes in A Midsummer Night’s Dream are the omnipresence of love and desire and the tendencies of characters to manifest their defining traits. Helena and Hermia are two perfect examples of this. Hermia is the lover, and Helena the desirer, and both thrive off of their obsessions. In fact, both women are so tied to these traits that when they are taken away, their characters deflate and fall static. From the beginning, Hermia defiantly denies her father’s attempts at an arranged marriage, in favor of her whirlwind romance with and marriage to Lysander. In her defense, she uses words of chastity and moral purity to claim her fidelity and love towards Lysander and inability to wed Demetrius â€Å"I know not by what power I am made bold / nor how it may concern my modesty† (pp). The concern, or befitting, of Hermia’s modesty, by not wedding Demetrius, is protecting the very essence of her womanhood from someone whom she feels isn’t worth of the ultimate consummation of love – marriage (and the subsequent sex). This is continued in her next dialogue, where Hermia states that she would rather die â€Å"quote† (pp) or become a nun than give up her virgin â€Å"privilege† â€Å"quote† (pp). Hermia’s claims of â€Å"privilege† and â€Å"sovereignty† validate her chastity and moral purity as something that shoul d only be shared with Lysander, not Demetrius. However, the sovereignty of Hermia’s claims also fits in with Demetrius’ arguments regarding his rights to Hermia’s hand in marriage: â€Å"quote† (pp). Demetrius’ use of â€Å"sovereignty† and â€Å"right† turns the supposed â€Å"love† of Hermia and Demetrius’ arranged marriage into a legal contract, where Hermia is property and social placeholder instead of a loving companion. Lysander pitches in to support Hermia’s claims of purity â€Å"Demetrius, I’ll avouch it to his head..† â€Å"quote† (pp). Here, Lysander claims that Demetrius slept with Helena and is therefore a â€Å"spoiled and inconstant man† â€Å"quote† (pp). OED. EDITORS gloss â€Å"spotted† as â€Å"morally stained† â€Å"quote† (pp). The Oxford English Dictionary also defines â€Å"spotted† as â€Å"something disgraceful.† This only emphasizes the uncouth premarital and in Hermia’s line of logic, immoral relationship between Demetrius and Hermia. This moral impurity is a compromise to Hermia’s chastity and perpetuates her dedication to love that is already evident in this passage. Another instance of Hermia’s dedication to her chastity and purity as a demonstration of comes in II.

Robespierre Execution Research

Question: What are the reasons for the execution of Maximilien Robespierre? Works Cited Hampson, Norman. The Life and Opinions of Maximilien Robespierre. N. p. : Duckworth, 1974. Print. In the Suggestions for Further Reading section of A Short History of the French Revolution by Jeremy Popkin, he recommends this book for further reading on Revolutionary Politics. This would be a good secondary source to look into. Sections of this book can be found on JSTOR. Jordan, David P. The Revolutionary Career of Maximilien Robespierre. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1989. Print.In the Suggestions for Further Reading section of A Short History of the French Revolution by Jeremy Popkin, he recommends this book for further reading on Revolutionary Politics. Online, I see that this book has an entire chapter dedicated to Thermidor. This book is a good secondary source to use. Sections of this book can be found on JSTOR. A complete eBook can be found on Google Books. Proyart, Lievin-Bonaventure. La Vie e t les Crimes de Maximilien Robespierre. Augsburg, 1795. Print. In the Works Cited section of The Revolutionary Career of Maximilien Robespierre, David P.Jordan cites this book, which was written a year after the execution of Robespierre. This is a good secondary source to look at. ?Robespierre, Maximilien,  Discours prononce par Robespierre, a la Convention Nationale, dans la seance du 8 thermidor de l'an 2 de la Republique une et indivisible ; trouve parmi ses papiers par la Commission chargee de les examiner. N. p. : Knowsley Pamphlet Collection, 1794. In the chapter on Thermidor in  The Revolutionary Career of Maximilien Robespierre. David P. Jordan cites this speech and talks about its impact on his execution. This would make a good primary source to look at.

Theory of Knowledge Essays

Theory of Knowledge Essays Theory of Knowledge Essay Theory of Knowledge Essay Everyone from all society is related to a belief, to God or others that is believed to have higher power than humans. This technically means that everyone was born believing the existence of afterlife or superiors. I will focus this presentation on the existence of God as the Creator, and the judge on our afterlife. Humans have a unique ability to pass knowledge down to the next generation; it is a very important skill for an advancement of life, and technology. For example we dont have to test how acid can burn the skin off because it has become a knowledge passed by an authority. Biases in approach to knowledge: We live in the world that is biased in approaching to the knowledge by conviction, such as religions and beliefs. I am hat no one in this world can claim that they are skeptics and atheists to the bone. They would have doubt about the existence of God, what will happen afterlife and I am infact almost certain that if there is a plane filled with the most well known skeptics and atheists, and the plane is crashing down these people would shout out, God, Help us etc. This happens because we live in the world that has obligation, ideals and a strong belief that God do exist. This then is passed to us in our early days and we subconsciously believe and graciously accepted these beliefs. Our brain works and memorizes at almost all the time, In our head we can easily produce an image of an angel, a handsome or a really pretty girl inside a brilliant white robe surrounded by magnificent light. But in this world, who has ever seen an angel in their life? This is a simple example on how we have been influenced without us noticing. If angels do exist and they happen to be an old lady with a broomstick then maybe we have burnt a couple of them in the past. And if witches do rest with a pretty face and keep wearing a white clothing rather than being gothic chances are we will praise them as an angel. Possible Uncertainties: Religions and beliefs are also passed down from generation to generation, there are a lot of beliefs in this world most of these spiritual beliefs rested on an unstable foundation which is shaking as our race advance even further. All these spiritual beliefs have the same reasoning, the same pattern! Because I personally believe that these religions and beliefs are all attempts on explaining of what is going on around the civilization at the time. These attempts are usually written, and used as a guidance on how to lead a proper life at the time. This written explanation and thesis are then classified as the holy book for the religion. The Bible for the Christian, Al-Quran for the Moslems and some that is not named. Some of the common things found with these religions and spiritual beliefs are a legitimately higher power, a happy ending for believer, a bad ending for those who goes against it. If we use our logic for justification combined with empirical evidence it is clear that these beliefs are shortcuts in getting people to do the right thing! If you are a thief, you will go to hell, if you kill, you will go to hell, if you do bad things you will go to hell, on the other hand you be good you go to heaven! To even further attract believers. The term heaven is modified in a couple of way, in Christianity you get to see Jesus Christ and sit next to God, in the case of Vikings in heaven or what they call Valhalla, warriors that gets there will be able to fight all they want and kill however they please. Sounds like a terrible heaven yet attractive to these Vikings. I dont have any idea on what hell would be for the Vikings, perhaps it is a peaceful quiet place where there is no argument! As you can see heaven and hell is modified to an extent it is loved and hated by the civilization this is a simple yet valid proof that these spiritual beliefs are made for a purpose. These hypotheses on how the world was created has advance over time too. Let us see one of our oldest civilizations in the world and their beliefs. The aborigines have a less complex and a rather simple way of explaining how the world was created in comparison with Christians, Islamic and Jewish Orthodoxy way of explaining the creation of the world. This I believe is due to the fact that the level of knowledge has changed over the time. The faithful believers may say that they have proofs; I can recall that when I was still in my fifth grade, I argued with a priest and she told me all these miracles that God has done in the past, My best approach on this is that the people at biblical time have mistakenly regard natural phenomenon and disaster as Gods action. The Chinese sacrifice children to save their village from angry demons or God, The Mayans sacrifice to please the God, or as a thanksgiving. Another set of evidence can also derive from the Noahs arc which is believed by the Jewish, the Moslems and the Christians. The Chinese and Greeks have a traditional folklore explaining such an event of big flood? This shows that a big flood did happen and all civilizations tried to explain it. Noahs journey could very well be true but of course the story in the bible is not true. Because the Chinese and the Greeks have lived it through, maybe the bibles saying on how the world was wiped out would be a truthful account for the Jewish civilizations. Enough with the empirical evidence, lets try the logical way of approaching this problem. In the bible almost at a constant time God interfere and show his greatness through his miracles and curses but I have never stopped wondering why a world with 6 Billions population and a communication and media capability such as today do not have reports on miracles nor curses? Limitation of Knowledge: With these faith and beliefs in our society our it slows down the society to improve to the next level. Beliefs and faith into a prehistoric time hypothesis has been an obstacle into advancement of knowledge. Especially noting that these hypotheses came with a threat of eternal torture and pain. The believers would tend to take everything for granted, they will lose their sense of curiosity, and they stop looking for imperfections, the causes because they believe to an extent where they readily say the term know This close-minded approach has destroyed and limits our advancement of knowledge. In some cases truths are denied and hypotheses are seen as a controversy or as an insult to God or the beliefs. In the old Europe Religions have final authority in science, for centuries Europeans believed that the earth was the center of the universe and the Sun revolved around it, this is based on Aristotle finding that is approved by the belief of that civilization. Copernicus found a more truthful planetary structure of our solar system but he has avoided controversy and expose his findings on his deathbed. Galilei supports this thesis as a factual, and caused investigation by the Inquisition. It is almost 250 years later, in the 1850s that another big opposition by science on religion comes out, this is when Charles Darwin brought in his Theory of evolution. And when we think that the resistance by beliefs and religions has stopped, in 1925 a court case was brought up against John T. Scopes a biology teacher that wanted to teach Darwins theory of evolution, Scopes lost the case and was fined $100 his last words were quoted as follow. Today it is the public-school teachers, tomorrow the private, the next day the preachers and the lecturers, the magazines, the books, the newspapers. After a while, Your Honour it is the setting of a man against man and creed against creed until with flying banners and beating drums, we are marching backward to the glorious ages of the sixteenth century when bigots lighted fagots to burn the men who dared to bring any intelligence and enlightenment and culture to the human mind. Our perception has been shaped since we were young, and has developed within a society that has strong belief of existence of God. It is very hard to change, and even if we can change our perception and beliefs, it takes time and to completely wipe off these spiritual beliefs from our world will take generations and generations. Religions, spiritual beliefs, they have made mistakes, and they will make mistakes again the biggest questions that arise from this is Do we still have to believe it? When will we stop believing it? Only time will answer this question, even though I will not be able to live to see it, I am sure we will one day become a society that justify with logic, and empirical evidence! I am certain that we will be able to be perfect rationalists and live in harmony.

Free Essays on The Painted Door

The Painted Door Of the many different mood disorders, depression is the most common, and one of the most misunderstood. While modern research indicated that brain chemical imbalances cause the condition, many people still believe that chronic depression indicates a weak personality or character flaw. This makes seeking help difficult as people hesitate before admitting this weakness, however healing only starts with learning to recognize the symptoms. â€Å"The Painted Door’s,† Ann, demonstrates many qualities that lead the reader to believe such disorder is present. Ann is so unhappy due to her dissatisfaction with her lifestyle, her frustration with her husband, and the inner conflict she experiences. In the first instance, it’s quite clear that Ann is not satisfied with her lifestyle. When John first decides to go visit his father, Ann is quick to explain how lonely she gets while alone in the house. Even though staying home alone is a regular occurrence for her, it’s not something she’s necessarily gotten used to. Ann tries to explain this to John but he doesn’t understand, so she finally gives up; â€Å"Pay no attention to me. Seven years a farmer’s wife– it’s time I was used to staying home alone† Also, Ann comes to the realization that they are on a path of never ending routine. Each day consists of labour, day in, day out, with nothing to look forward to. Unfortunately, this isn’t good enough for Ann; â€Å"She was young still, eager for excitement and distractions† Regrettably, these desires of hers are not ones easily fulfilled as a farmer’s wife. Ann is a sociable person but doesn’t get out as much as she’d like. The labour involved in such a lifestyle is constant without much change. All of these norms of being a farmer’s wife are still estranged to Ann, and she doesn’t seem willing to settle for it anymore. The dissatisfaction she holds towards her lifestyle contributes to her unhappine... Free Essays on The Painted Door Free Essays on The Painted Door The Painted Door Of the many different mood disorders, depression is the most common, and one of the most misunderstood. While modern research indicated that brain chemical imbalances cause the condition, many people still believe that chronic depression indicates a weak personality or character flaw. This makes seeking help difficult as people hesitate before admitting this weakness, however healing only starts with learning to recognize the symptoms. â€Å"The Painted Door’s,† Ann, demonstrates many qualities that lead the reader to believe such disorder is present. Ann is so unhappy due to her dissatisfaction with her lifestyle, her frustration with her husband, and the inner conflict she experiences. In the first instance, it’s quite clear that Ann is not satisfied with her lifestyle. When John first decides to go visit his father, Ann is quick to explain how lonely she gets while alone in the house. Even though staying home alone is a regular occurrence for her, it’s not something she’s necessarily gotten used to. Ann tries to explain this to John but he doesn’t understand, so she finally gives up; â€Å"Pay no attention to me. Seven years a farmer’s wife– it’s time I was used to staying home alone† Also, Ann comes to the realization that they are on a path of never ending routine. Each day consists of labour, day in, day out, with nothing to look forward to. Unfortunately, this isn’t good enough for Ann; â€Å"She was young still, eager for excitement and distractions† Regrettably, these desires of hers are not ones easily fulfilled as a farmer’s wife. Ann is a sociable person but doesn’t get out as much as she’d like. The labour involved in such a lifestyle is constant without much change. All of these norms of being a farmer’s wife are still estranged to Ann, and she doesn’t seem willing to settle for it anymore. The dissatisfaction she holds towards her lifestyle contributes to her unhappine...

SWOT Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

SWOT - Case Study Example To sustain future growth; Wal-Mart should increase its presence in these markets that include Brazil, India, China and Mexico. The rise in acceptance of the company’s label products, which has experienced an increase of over 40% for the past ten years or so, is another opportunity. Therefore, to earn higher profit margins, Wal-Mart should hike the number of private label products, which are sold at the company’s store. Another opportunity that Wal-Mart has is to expand the grocery stores in order to earn more income since there is a current trend of consuming a healthier food thus increasing the demand of grocery products. Growth of online shopping is also an opportunity. Wal-Mart should seize this opportunity to increase its profits; considering that, Wal-Mart is the largest offline retailer and in 2001, the retail sector of online grew by 4.7% in the US, hitting $197 billion. The company can reach plenty of customers using this technique thus increasing its

Hamlet by Shakespeare Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Hamlet by Shakespeare - Essay Example In his first soliloquy, he explains that he is unhappy about his mother marrying King Claudius, just with in a month after the death of his father .More over he does not trust King Claudius. At the same time Ophelia who is in love with young Hamlet is advised against this love affair by her father Lord Chamberlain Polonius as well as her brother Laertes, which makes Hamlet more unhappy. Young Hamlet meets his father’s ghost who tells him that he was killed by Claudius by poisoning. The ghost wants young Hamlet to take revenge for his death. The ghost asks him not to punish his mother for marrying King Claudius, for she will get judged and prosecuted by her own consciousness and in the heaven. Hamlet wants to take revenge on the king, but is fed up with the vanities and deceits of life. â€Å" To be, or not to be , that is the question : /Whether ‘ts nobler in the mind to suffer/ The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune/ Or to take arms against a sea of troubles/And b y opposing end them.† (Act 111, Scene1, 56-60) Meanwhile different theories arise regarding the strange behavior of young Hamlet. Hamlet had met Ophelia, badly dressed and left with out uttering much to her. Knowing this incident Polonius theorizes that Hamlet’s strange behavior is due to the rejection of him by Ophelia. Queen Gertrude believes that, it is the death of his father and her hurried marriage that is disturbing Hamlet.