Building Codes for the Fire Services

In the recent Charleston, South Carolina furniture warehouse fire, nine firefighters perished apparently by compromised and structural collapse of the building’s roof. Every year, fire related accidents caused by building collapse; flashover and deadly smoke have been the leading causes of injuries or deaths of firefighters all over the United States (Dunn, 2007). Most tragic was the World Trade Center Twin Towers’ collapse where 343 members of the Fire Department City of New York (FDNY) perished died fifty-six minutes after the attacks (Fema’s US Fire Administration, 2002).The building officials, fire department, architects and engineers did not anticipate that such an attack could happen in American soil. In the light of these developments, the public called for a review of all existing building and fire codes in the country. Dunn (2007) enumerated three most deadly situations in firefighting history where the ten-year study of the National Fire Protection Asso ciation indicated them as the main causes of injuries and fatalities of firefighters. They are collapse, flame spread and smoke.â€Å"The most common types of collapse that have injured and killed many in the line of duty were floor collapse, roof collapse, wall collapse and ceiling collapse† (Dunn 2007). It is imperative that firefighters have the basic knowledge on the behavior of buildings while being engulfed in flames. What they know could save their lives when they take the risk of controlling the situation. It is also important to look back at previous strategies on how buildings were deemed â€Å"fire proofed† and considered safe at all times.To avoid a repeat of the tragic incidents, regulatory bodies, engineers, the academe and other professionals pit their wits and talents to ensure building safety standards are met. It is undeniable that some of the codes have become obsolete with the introduction of new building construction technologies. The Need to Overh aul Existing Codes Traditionally, the safety of buildings has been regulated by codes all over the country.Since the 1800’s the safety of buildings had been mandated by these codes and they include the use of â€Å"fire resistive materials, compartmentation features, and later, installation of automatic sprinkler systems and automatic fire alarm systems. † (Solomon and Hagglund, 2001, p. 619). All of these prescriptions were intended to ensure building safety even in the event of a fire. These also purported to make tall buildings safer. These had worked well under hazardous circumstances but were tested when the 9/11 attacks occurred.Codes across the United States are also moving towards performance measures in addition to the time-tested prescriptions of the codes (Solomon and Hagglund, 2001, p. 619). In New York City, for example, Mayor Bloomberg called for a review of the existing codes that had been in force since 1968 to conform to contemporary needs. New York ha s four construction codes namely the Building Code, Fuel Gas, Mechanical and Plumbing Codes (New New York City Construction Codes, n. d. , p. 1). The City government was caught flatfooted with an outdated construction code when the 9/11 attacks struck.The amendments to the code include the adoption of the International Building Code (IBC) format, placing safety as a priority and preserving some elements of the existing codes while enhancing the â€Å"requirements for fire protection, construction safety, and structural integrity requirements for new buildings. † (New New York City Construction Codes, n. d. , p. 1) Moore (n. d. ) defined building codes as â€Å"extratechnological laws that govern the design and construction of structures. † (p. 262). The codes follow the dictates social and ethical mores where the protection of life and property is a priority.It also traces its roots in the Hammurabi code where a builder was held responsible for a collapsed house that k illed its occupants and applying the lex talionis principle of justice (p. 262). Codes also had grown out of the necessity to adhere to insurance regulations. Protection goals include all the contents of a building or warehouse that were insured. Failure to mitigate the risk like loss to fire would mean economic repercussions for the community or state (Solomon and Hagglund, 2001, p. 625).Code prescriptions until the 1940’s prescribed a fire resistive building as steel framed or buildings that had â€Å"skeletal framework of steel columns and beams which supported the actual weight of the structure and its contents. † (Portolan, n. d. ) The structural elements were fireproofed or encased in concrete or tile (Portolan, n. d. ) In the 1920’s, the codes also regulated the heights of buildings where height limitations had a direct relationship to the construction methods employed (Solomon and Hagglund, 2001, p. 626).Each state though had its interpretation and regul ations concerning construction practices. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) proposed a performance based approach to tall building designs with the hope the building designs and construction methodologies respond to the need for safer buildings. The NFPA outlined six goals to performance based building design. They include: Life Safety of Building Occupants; Property/Contents Protection; Mission Continuity; Environmental Consequence of Fire; Heritage/Cultural Preservation; and Fire Suppression Personnel Safety (Solomon and Hagglund, 2001, p.632). However, not all directives and codes today follow the suggestions of NFPA. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) developed their standards specifically aimed at protecting both firefighters and civilians from fire-related injuries. Some of the standards relevant to the construction industry include NFPA 5000 (Building Construction and Safety Code); â€Å"NFPA 13 (Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems); NFPA 501 (Standard on Manufactured Housing) (NIOSH, 2005, p. 3).According to NIOSH (2005)†, while there are existing standard tests like ANSI (American National Standards Institute) or ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) that govern the safety measures in building materials and construction methodologies, these do not take into consideration real situations involving actual conflagrations and how fires would impact on the structural integrity of the structures (p. 4). NIOSH (2005) also pointed out that existing building codes enforced in various states were not designed specifically to protect firefighters.The design focus was on evacuation procedures and how occupants in the building could escape to safety once an unfortunate event occurred (p. 4). With the new reality that unfolded post-9/11, existing building codes must be reviewed for and in consideration of the risks involved when disasters strike. Basic Knowledge on Structural Behaviors of Buildings Accord ing to Portolan (n. d. (b)), there are five elements of a building that the firefighters need to consider when evaluating how buildings will behave in case of fire and which strategies to use to contain the problem.They include: the type of construction, size of the building, age of the construction, renovation and occupancy. These are essential information that firefighters can use to plan their course of actions. In addition, knowledge on the behavior of the different structural elements of the building is also imperative. Structural loading creates different stresses on the structures and they may occur separately or in combination. The stresses include compression, tensile and shear stresses (Portolan, n. d (b). ). Compression acts when materials are pressed against each other.Tensile stresses happen when the structural elements are pulled in two different directions. Shear stresses cause materials to fracture and slide across the defect in the opposite direction (Portolan, n. d (b). ). Structural elements of the building are subjected to different loads. Columns are commonly subjected to axial loads. Eccentric loads are directed along a parallel axis to the longitudinal section of the structural member and are off-centered. Torsion loads can cause twisting in the structural elements (Portolan, n. d (b).) Aside from the stresses, the firefighters also need to consider which part of the structures are vulnerable or the structural integrity had been compromised because of the fire. When steel beams are subjected to unusually high temperature, the structural member may expand and elongate. If both ends are tightly secured, torsion stresses may cause twisting in beams (Portolan, n. d. (b)). Columns carry the greatest axial loads. The more slender the column, the more it is susceptible to buckling. When axial loads shift to eccentric or torsion loads, it could also be a cause of failure (Portolan, n. d. (b)).About 60% of the buildings in the United States use t he truss system for roofs (NIOSH, 2005, p. 1). Most of the truss systems were made of wood materials. Recent innovation introduced lighter construction materials for truss systems including steel and lighter weight materials intended to accommodate wider spans. Under normal conditions, these engineered materials may perform well. However, when fire occurs, they may be weakened and compromised causing the collapse of roof and floor systems (p. 1). Types of Building Collapses Due to Fire Collapse patterns are different for each element of the building.Walls often collapse in a 90-degree angle. These walls are often constructed using reinforced masonry. Curtain wall collapse occurs when the outer veneer becomes disconnected and they fall straight down to the base of the wall. This type of collapse is also exhibited by unreinforced walls. Inward or outward collapse may also occur if the wall is breached or at areas where it is considerably weaker like door or window openings (Portolan, n. d. (b)). Truss systems of roof and floor often cave-in as their structural integrities were affected by conflagration. Steel trusses are also susceptible to expansion and torsion stresses.Often, firefighters used visual indicators to predict an impending collapse. But these were not enough to prevent accidents from happening. NIOSH (2005) listed three conditions where truss collapse occurs. First, when a firefighter works on the roof top of the burning building, chances of a cave-in is extremely high because the hidden structural members of the truss system had already been subjected to extreme temperatures thereby weakening them. Second, firefighters working inside the burning structure are also subjected to the risk of the entire roof falling onto them.Finally, failed truss systems can precipitate other parts of the structure to collapse like walls (p. 4). Another type of collapse usually found in tall structures is referred to as progressive collapse. Nair (2004) defined progr essive collapse as â€Å"collapse of all or a large part of a structure precipitated by failure or damage of a relatively small part of it. † (p. 1) This theory was used in part to explain why the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York collapsed. Conclusion Knowing how structural members behave during fire would mitigate the risk factors and prevent injuries and deaths.Part of the training of firefighters is knowing how to evaluate the condition of the burning edifice before going in and making a plan of action. The different studies on the behavior of buildings on fire proved to be valuable to firefighters. The recent events had also made regulating bodies review their out-dated Codes. Existing building codes do not include the protection of firefighters in the event of fire. The NFPA and the IBC remedied that deficiency. However, code changes were also met with opposition. Building codes were primarily implemented with economic considerations in mind.It would pro ve to be more costly for the building owner if NFPA or IBC was followed. According to Gips (2005), of the various proposals for change in the Codes, only one was acceptable and included in the IBC. It concerned the fire-resistance ratings of buildings of 420 feet or higher. The new code required a â€Å"minimum three-hour structural fire-resistance rating, whether sprinklers are present or not. † (p. 42+). Other provisions that would make it safer for both firefighters and occupants need more work. References Dunn, V. (2007). Dunn's Dispatch: 9 firefighters die fighting fire in South Carolina furniture storeroom fire.Retrieved 26 June 2007 from: http://cms. firehouse. com/content/article/article. jsp? sectionId=14&id=55205 FEMA’s US Fire Administration (2002). USA releases preliminary firefighter fatality statistics for 2001. Retrieved 26 June 2007 from: http://mcftoa. org/Deathstats1. htm Gips, M. A. (2005, March). The Challenge of Making Safer Structures: Three and a Half Years after 9-11, Building Codes Are Just Starting to Reflect Lessons Learned from the World Trade Center Collapse. Security Management, 49, 42+. Retrieved June 27, 2007, from Questia database: http://www. questia. com/PM. qst? a=o&d=5008988697 Moore, S. A. (n. d.) Building Codes in Encyclopedia of Science, Technology and Ethics, 262-266 Retrieved 26 June 2007 from: http://soa. utexas. edu/faculty/moore/selectpub/enc_buildingcodes. pdf Nair, R. S. (2004) Progressive collapse basics. Retrieved 27 June 2007 from: http://www. aisc. org/Content/ContentGroups/Documents/Selected_Nair/nairhotlink2. pdf New New York City Construction Codes (n. d. ) Retrieved 26 June 2007 from: http://nyc. gov/html/dob/downloads/pdf/cons_code_faqs. pdf NIOSH (2005) Preventing injuries or deaths of firefighters due to truss system failures. Retrieved 27 June 2007 from: http://www. cdc. gov/niosh/docs/2005-132/pdfs/2005-132.pdf Portolan, C. (n. d. ) Building Construction –Special situations Retrie ved 27 June 2007 from: http://www. lbfdtraining. com/Pages/buildingconstruction/specialsituations. html Portolan, C. (n. d. (b)) Glossary of building construction terminology Retrieved 27 June 2007 from: http://www. lbfdtraining. com/Pages/buildingconstruction/bconstructintro. html Solomon, R. E. and Hagglund, B. (2001) Performance code requirements in the tall building environment in Tall buildings and urban habitat: Cities in the third millennium. Council On Tall Buildings And Urban Habitat – orgname. New York: Spon Press, 619-634.

Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Essay

Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar is considered a hero by millions of India’s oppressed OBCs (Other Backward Castes or ‘lowered castes’) and Dalits. He was India’s 20th century crusader against the caste system. He was a statesman, national leader, and the chief architect of the Indian Constitution. Dr. Ambedkar’s thoughts and writings still have significant influence on the masses of Indians working to free themselves from Brahmanism (the caste system, as validated by the religion called Hinduism). Following are just a few quotes from literally thousands of pages of Ambedkar speeches and writings. Speaking about the coming Indian independence from Great Britain, Ambedkar stated, â€Å"†¦we are going to enter into a life of contradictions. In politics we will have equality, and in social and economic life we will have inequality. In politics we will be recognizing the principle of one-man one vote and one vote one value. In our social and economic life, we shall by reason of our social and economic structure continue to deny the principle of one-man one value. How long shall we continue to live this life of contradictions? How long shall we continue to deny equality in our social and economic life? If we continue to deny it for long, we will do so only by putting our political democracy in peril.† (p.295) â€Å"†¦whether conversion can solve the problem of untouchability. The answer to that question is emphatically in the affirmative.† (p.87) â€Å"Hinduism is a religion which is not founded on morality. Whatever morality Hinduism has, it is not an integral part of it.† (p.257) â€Å"I do not want to be misunderstood when I say that Brahmanism is an enemy which must be dealt with. By Brahmanism, I do not mean the power, privileges and interests of the Brahmins as a community. That is not the sense in which I am using the word. By Brahmanism, I mean the negation of the spirit of liberty, equality, and fraternity. In that sense, it is rampant in all classes and is not confined to the Brahmins alone, though they have been the originators of it.† (p.88) â€Å"Hinduism is not interested in the common man. Hinduism is not interested in society as a whole. The center of interest lies in a class, and its philosophy is concerned in sustaining and supporting the rights of that class. That is why in the philosophy of Hinduism, the interests of the common man as well as of society are denied, suppressed, and sacrificed to the interest of this class of Supermen (Brahmin).† (p. 258) â€Å"†¦there can be no doubt that caste is one and an essential and integral part of Hinduism†¦A Hindu is as much born into caste as he is born in Hinduism. Indeed a person cannot be born in Hinduism unless he is born in caste. Caste and Hinduism are inseparable.† (p.259) â€Å"The record of the Brahmins as law givers for the Shudras (OBC’s), for the Untouchables (Dalits) and for women is the blackest as compared with the record of the intellectual classes in other parts of the world. For no intellectual class has prostituted its intelligence to invent a philosophy to keep its uneducated countrymen in a perpetual state of ignorance and poverty as the Brahmins have done in India.† (p.259) Despite recent news telling us that India is surging forward in mordernization and in economic and social gains, the current growth trends are touching, at most, fifteen percent of the Indian population. The vast majority of India remains unaffected by the current growth trends. These masses will continue to remain unaffected until the Kingdom of God comes and brings opportunity to the Indian majority (OBCs and Dalits).

The Official Language of the United States

Do you know what the official language of the United States is? If you answered English, guess again. But don’t feel bad, the vast majority of people would answer that English is the official language of the United States of America. English is the de facto language since, at this point, it is the most widely spoken language in the nation. But Spanish is catching up millions Hispanics speaking their native language at home, at work, and on their daily lives. This brings another point: Why is the U. S. an English-speaking country (or so you think), catering not only to the Spanish language, but to many others that you don’t even know about? Because the U. S. as a nation has never declared an official language. Many people have tried it with no success. In 1780, John Adams proposed to the Continental Congress that English should be declared the official language of the United States. His proposal was deemed â€Å"undemocratic and a threat to individual liberty. † This type of debate has been going on for years, with people on both sides of the fence. And yet, the issue isn't any closer to a resolution than it was 200 years ago. This doesn’t mean that the individual states have not declared an official language because many already have. Twenty-seven states, to be exact, have officially declared English as their language. U. S. English . gov Let’s not forget that since 1776 we have been—and continue to be—a multilingual nation. Back then, it wasn’t uncommon to hear up to 20 different languages spoken in daily life. Today, those numbers are more staggering. According to U. S. English Inc. an advocacy group that supports declaring English as our official language, 322 languages are spoken in the country, with 24 of those spoken in every state and the District of Columbia. California has the most languages, with 207, while Wyoming has the fewest with 56. So why won’t Congress declare an official language? Because we are a nation of immigrants and these numbers prove it. Because declaring an official language would abridge the rights of individuals with limited English proficiency, individuals who are paying taxes and who are entitled to the same rights as those who speak English. To protect those rights, there is something called Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Although twenty seven states have declared English as their official language, in order to receive federal financial assistance those states still have to comply with Title VI, which requires that vital materials be available in the language of everyone receiving benefits subsidized by the Federal Government. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the 2000 Executive Order No. 3166 require that public entities receiving federal funds must have all vital documents available in every language that their clients speak; every language, not just Spanish. Why? Because the U. S. has never declared an official language and as such, the Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 still applies. Basically, Title VI was best described by President John F. Kennedy in 1963: â€Å"Simple justice requires that public funds, to which all taxpayers of all races [colors, and national origins] contribute, not be spent in any fashion which encourages, entrenches, subsidizes or results in racial [color or national origin] discrimination. †

Agrarian societies in history Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Agrarian societies in history - Essay Example The Agrarian period witnessed a lot of economic, cultural and political activity among various societies in the ancient societies. The differences in activity were inclined to a number of factors and this largely depended on the geographical habitat of a given society. The three fundamental questions that are tackled in this instance include, if there was any social structure in that society and how it was constructed, what was the diet of that particular society and lastly, what was important for the people of that society’s survival. The Tang dynasty in the Agrarian society was characterized by the caste system just like most of the earlier traditional Agrarian societies. There existed the rulers who were at the apex of the social structure and this caste went down to the laborers who were at the bottom of the social structure. It had a stable government with intellectuals being highly regarded. History of Tang dynasty majorly emphasizes only the mandarins and the nobles, th e clergy and the intellectuals who were at the top of the social system (Benn 56-59). Furthermore, the group of mentioned elite in the Tang society had little or no time for the artisans, merchants, traders and slaves. It is only the elite that left some of the writings that were found in the Chinese library many years later. On the contrary, the lower in the class system did not leave any writings behind. The Tang society was patriarchal in nature as no major recognition was given to women in the Tang society. ... In some instances, tea was taken with traditional Chinese bread which was mainly baked by women in Traditional Tang society. The Tang together with its sister, Chinese dynasty the Ming, gave great reverence to trade in gunpowder which was a very important economic activity. It was during this period that the gun powder was invented. Gun powder was one of the most important activities in the day to day lives of the people in the Tang dynasty. Lastly in regard to the Tang, religion played an essential role in the lives of the people. The Tang societies were very religious with Buddhism being the main religion of the entire dynasty. Buddhism attracted the largest number of adherents and it’s on the basis of Buddhism religion through which court decisions were influenced or made (Benn 94-97). Just like the Tang dynasty, the Aztec society was also a socially stratified society in the sense that there existed several classes among the Aztec people. There were the nobles and also the commoners. The king or ruler the Tlatoani was considered sacred together with his lineage and had great influence among the Aztec people. The Tlatoani was the voice of the Aztec and his word was given preeminence as sacred. He had his royal who served the main purpose of paving his way of the normal people. His words were taken to be the word of the gods and nobody in the Aztec society would go contrary to this. A child born in Aztec society grew up and eventually died on the class or caste that his family belonged to. They believed that the cosmos had its way of classifying people in classes and this was the will of the gods, for this reason they embraced the fit in system where one inherited his social strata by the mere virtue of birth. On their food preferences, animal meat was a

Reactions papers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Reactions papers - Essay Example This holy book teaches that only true believers will be rescued on the day of the Last Judgment, while the rest will burn in the hell-fire, suffering from the eternal torments. The laws of God are unalterable. He sees every man and knows all the deeds and thoughts of people. People come to this world in order to improve themselves and serve the good. Man is the greatest of the divine creatures, the living image of God, while the nature of god is unidentified and mysterious. Islam is divided into three denominations: Sunni, Shia and Sufi (mystic Islam). The major difference between Sunni and Shia Islam is in their vision of the role of caliphs and Imams. Shias believe that only Muhammad’s descendents have the divine appointment and obey Imams, while Sunni accept the elected system of caliphate. Selim accuses Ismail of his going against the true religion and other Muslim people, tyranny and oppression directed towards the true believers and the rejection of the Caliphs. Selim be lieves, that by these actions of his, Ismail undermines the essential beliefs of the Sunni and repudiates the Quran. Selim also views himself as the noble protector of the true religion and prosecutor of all the unfaithful. War is against divine laws, teaches Quran. Conflicts must be first reconciled by the words. That is why Selim writes a letter to Ismail, trying to turn him to the right path of faith and informing him that otherwise he will have to commence war. It is obvious from the letter, that Selim pursues not only religious, but also state interests, trying to return back the territories captured by Ismail. Letter 8. Revolutions Reshape the World. There was a century between the Glorious Revolution (1688) in England and French revolution of 1789-1799, yet both events had the same results: establishment of the Parliamentary, constitutional monarchy. Bill of Rights, accepted by the British Parliament in 1689, which is still a part of the British

Goals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Goals - Essay Example One might ask why, from all places around the globe, did I envision going to Italy. From various informative sources: books, films, magazines, online travel destinations, and friends’ shared experiences, I have slowly marveled at the magnificent attractions that Italy offers. The Language Travel Magazine, for one, indicated that â€Å"Italy is famous for its artistic culture and is an obvious study destination for students wanting to learn more about this rich heritage† (Language Travel Magazine, 2006, p. 1). The country boasts of beautiful cities, historical and structural edifices, the romantic language and the prominent people who were instrumental in contributing talents in the fields of arts, literature, paintings, architecture, and fashion, among others. Apart from all these, the distinct and superb food entrees have been known the world over and entice visitors to delve into a vast array of mouthwatering recipes and savory menus. Due to the enthusiasm and burning desire to reach this highly sought after destination, one actually planned an itinerary of things to do once I arrive in Italy. I will definitely wear my most comfortable shoes to indulge in visiting tourist attractions including the famous vineyards, go shopping, forget dieting, and feast my senses on all the beauty that surround the country. As a marveling tourist, I plan to visit the wonderful art galleries that contain a roster of world renowned paintings by Renaissance architects and painters like Michelangelo Buonarroti, Filippo Brunelleschi, and Leonardo da Vinci, among other talented and creative Italians through time. I definitely see myself as trekking the colosseum in Rome and the Tower of Pisa that both mesmerize me. I aspire to visit the wonderful monuments and antique museums in Sicily, Rome, Florence, and Venice. There are musical concerts

International Management - PESTEL analysis of company ( Jaguar Land Essay

International Management - PESTEL analysis of company ( Jaguar Land Rover) - Essay Example In the case of UK the company has to go through lesser formalities. Red tape is also an important issue that the organization faces in their business operations in India. This political issue is a significant problem for the company. Like other automobile companies the organization is also facing the threat of international terrorism. Being a multinational company the organization has significant threats from the global terrorists groups. Foreign investors in the Indian market are getting significant tax benefits from the government. It has attracted lots of automobile companies to open their accounts and to expand their businesses in the Indian markets. It has increased the competition for Jaguar Land Rover. The organization has business operations in China. China is a communist nation. In that country freedom of speech is very less and so the organization has to manage their business operations according to the whims and fancies of the Chinese government. There is very less scope f or the organization to voice their concern in the country. Political situations in the Asia pacific region are significantly volatile in nature. Political situations in Pakistan and Afghanistan are not all safe for the company. It is being observed that often in these two countries foreign nationalities and foreign organizations are the soft targets of the terrorists groups. Due all these volatile situations safety and security of the employees are significant concerns that the organization is currently confronting. These entire messy political situations have hampered the business profitability also. In this region the company recorded lowest volumes of sales. In 2012, Only 9161 Land Rover cars and 3815 Jaguar cars were sold in the region. Recently the organization has been acquired by Indian automobile company TATA Motors. Differentiating cultures of these two organizations is also an issue for the company. Jaguar Land Rover is one of

The Novel John Cheever Bullet Park and John Cheever, The Essay

The Novel John Cheever Bullet Park and John Cheever, The Five-Forty-Eight - Essay Example g the absurdity of the surroundings’ and pointlessness of their behaviors and actions, his stories hold out the hope of redemption in love and sense of revenge and unforgiving attitude Such as in the story â€Å"Five-forty-Five† and his novel† The bullet park†. John Cheever was a complex person himself and during the course of his life he was saddled by the habit of alcoholism and infidelities but he presented himself so earnestly as a Man in Brooks’ brother suit, his life was as contradictory as his characters and so his writing is not neat and raises so many questions and answer’s very less.(The guardian,2009).  Cheever rightly described himself near the end of his life, in a heartbreaking sentence: "I am one of those old men; I am like a voyager who cannot remember the streams he has travelled." (Gottlieb,2002). In the novel â€Å" The Bullet Park†, author portrays an array of well kept houses and more than well mannered people of the town the Bullet Park but Cheever’s characters always has a double meaning to them and an unobserving reader might fail to see the crouching beast dangerously hidden behind those well kept houses. The story unfolds as a fateful intersection of two men the innocent Eliot Nailles and his nemesis, Paul Hammer, whose object is to murder his neighbors son, takes place. The novel has an aura of retribution from the beginning. For example the chosen names for the characters are Hammer and Nailles, which show the exact opposite of each other and every quality of hammer is lacked in a nail. It is the first impression of reckless and conflicting situation between the two characters and the author tried to expose their rivalry for each other by his blunt, quite witty and creative writing.(Shannon,1998) Cheever’s view of rivalry and revenge is also seen in the description of his characters as the two main characters’ were exactly opposite of each other, in short the characters are also in the state of conflict, not just in their

Respond to the class discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Respond to the class discussion - Essay Example Instead, he will expose his own family and himself to tensions that will destroy harmony. Even his own relations with his friend would take an unpleasant turn once his family would be suffering. He may, at a later point in time, regret having helped his friend and curse him for his failure, while the friend may not even feel sorry for him! Therefore, Kant’s theory would recommend complying with the first formulation rather than the third. Response to class fellows on first discussion: Marta: I agree to you in your analysis of the first formulation of Kant not for the reason you have provided but because that was the demand of the first formulation. You have given the matter an altogether different dimension of perspective that I think is not quite relevant here. You have said that father should not lie because lying is wrong, and not because he has an obligation towards his family. That would be completely wrong and inconsiderate of father if he chooses not to lie because lyin g is bad. ... Cshena: You are right in your analysis of the first formulation of Kant. I also believe that father should resolve to save his career and his family’s future instead of saving his friend. It is the requirement of the first formulation of Kant. If father helps his friend, he will still gain blame of his own wife and seven children, so the job is plainly not perfect. Also, father will earn the praise of his friend for having saved his life. This renders his act imperfect in light of the first formulation of Kant. I also consent with you in your interpretation of Kant’s third formulation because it fundamentally requires father to fulfill his duty towards the society irrespective of his personal concerns. Henke: You have come up with a general response to the question and have not clearly analyzed the case separately in light of the first and third formulations of Kant. However, I do consent with you when you say that father should be protective towards his own family. He has got a wife and seven children to take care of and for whom, he is the sole bread earner. I also like the way you have analyzed the matter in a broader background that involves all people of society. You said that it would be wrong for father to lie because this would encourage everybody to lie and that would be wrong. However, I think you could have looked at it differently! You could have said, â€Å"What if every family in the society hid a Jewish family?† That would obviously have raised government’s suspicion for its own people, and ultimately, life of not only the Jews but also of non-Jews would be on stake. Response to class fellows on the second discussion: Parker: I

Business Code of Ethics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Business Code of Ethics - Research Paper Example On the other hand, ethics is more social and more specific than morality and the practical counterpart of it (Stewart, 2011, p. 7). It serves as the guide for the actions and behaviors especially in professions and organizations. In business, it is also very important especially in companies where complex system works together with many people involve. Some actions are not tolerated as those may become detrimental to the individual and to the whole organization. Misbehaviors may destroy the reputation of the business and may affect its sales (Boone and Kurtz, 2011, p. 197). Later on, profits may also decline as a result of losing sales that may lead to more undesirable conditions of the organization. It may not be able to sustain its operations and the management may decide to have massive lay-off to save the company. If it comes to the worst case scenario, the company will close due to bankruptcy. The illustrated possibilities that may happen to the company due to misbehavior only s how how ethics is important to guide each person in his course of actions in his daily life especially during the times he spend in working for the company. It shows how it is important for the management to place some ways of control over the working system of the company to ensure that ethics is followed by the members of the organization and prevent the occurrence of undesirable conditions. Rules and regulations are then presented to the employees as they must know the allowable actions and disallowable actions that are subjected to sanctions. Good performance leads to rewards while misconduct leads to punishment. Standards are also held in place to provide a guide for the employees to follow regarding the level of productivity and performance that they must render. Standards and the rules and regulations are affected by the code of ethics. Since conducting a business is also a profession, it requires a list of norms that people must follow. To make the concept of code of ethics clearer, a specific definition must be given. As said in the preceding sentences, code of ethics is established for certain particular professions to ensure quality services and meet the needs of the clients. The code contains a list of norms that professionals must follow throughout their careers (Marquis and Huston, 2009, p. 77). Therefore, the code defines the identity of the certain profession being practiced while ensuring the values to reflect on the performance. Sometimes code of ethics is called code of conduct as it pertains to the correct or wrong actions and behaviors. In business, it is installed in the company to ensure the top-of-the-line services and products are delivered to the clients as they are important to the profits that drive the operations of the company (Ferrell et. al., 2011, p. 347). Without profits, company will not be sustainable and may eventually close. In making a code of ethics, it requires to have a basis. The basis then for the code of ethics to s ubstantiate is to identify the underlying values. Values are then important not only in adding ease to the lives of people but also bringing a progressive uplift to the society as a whole. It also leads to the enhancement of the quality of lives around the world (Shaikh, 2010, p. 480). Therefore, the code then must consider not only the values and service quality but also the prevailing culture and beliefs in the locality where it operates

Various Factors of the External and Internal to Organization Essay Example for Free

Various Factors of the External and Internal to Organization Essay The internal environment of an organization refers to events, factors, people, systems, structures and conditions inside the organization that are generally under the control of the company. The companys mission statement, organizational culture and style of leadership are factors typically associated with the internal environment of an organization. As such, it is the internal environment that will influence organizational activities, decisions and employee behavior and attitudes. Changes in the leadership style, the organizations mission or culture can have a considerable impact on the organization. The External Environment The external environment are those factors that occur outside of the company that cause change inside organizations and are, for the most part, beyond the control of the company. Customers, competition, the economy, technology, political and social conditions and resources are common external factors that influence the organization. Even though the external environment occurs outside of an organization, it can have a significant influence on its current operations, growth and long-term sustainability. Ignoring external forces can be a detrimental mistake for managers to make. As such, it is imperative that managers continually monitor and adapt to the external environment, working to make proactive changes earlier on rather than having to take a reactive approach, which can lead to a vastly different outcome. Changing for the Internal Environment To better understand changes in the internal environment, lets look at the following example. After graduating from college, Cassandra decided to buy an existing tanning salon in her community. Before Cassandra purchased the salon, it was in terrible financial trouble. Many of the employees complained about the general managers leadership style, and the staff were often confused about what products and services they offered at the salon because the manager continuously implemented his next bright idea with little warning, most of which were complete failures. Cassandra knew that if she was ever going to be able to bring any level of success to the salon, she needed to make several changes to the internal environment of the tanning salon. The first thing Cassandra did was to fire the existing manager because of his ineffective leadership style. She replaced the manager with someone who practiced a leadership style that was better aligned with the company and its employees. Next, Cassandra spent time developing a clear mission of the company and communicated the new mission to all employees. Over the next several months, Cassandra spent time getting to know her employees and worked hard to foster a culture that was positive and rewarding. All of these changes made by Cassandra were necessary due to the internal forces that were pushing for change, and with the help of her employees, Cassandra was able to bring the much needed changes to the internal environment of the company. Changing for the External Environment If we return to the example of Cassandras tanning salon, we can also find some external forces that required additional change at the tanning salon. If you remember, one of the major issues the staff was having with the previous general manager was his continuous changing of products and services at the salon. What his staff did not know was that he was trying to respond to external factors relating to changing customer demands. As a result, Cassandra spent time talking to her customers to find out what they really want in a tanning salon and was sure to make any changes necessary to accommodate those demands. Additionally, because of the struggling economy, Cassandra needed to ensure her pricing was affordable to her clients and comparable to what her competition was offering for similar tanning services and products at their salons. Lesson Summary Lets review. The internal environment of an organization refers to events, factors, people, systems, structures and conditions inside the organization that are generally under the control of the company. The companys mission statement, organizational culture and style of leadership are factors that are typically associated with the internal environment of an organization. The external environment are those factors that occur outside of the company that cause change in organizations and are, for the most part, beyond the control of the company. Customers, competition, the economy, technology, political and social conditions and resources are common external factors that influence the organization. In order for managers to react to the forces of internal and external environments, they rely on environmental scanning. Environmental scanning refers to the monitoring of an organizations internal and external environments for early signs that a change may be needed. Environmental scans allow managers to use the knowledge gained during the scanning process to decide what steps, or changes, Answer: If there is anything that is stead fast and unchanging, it is change itself. Change is inevitable, and those organizations who do not keep up with change will become unstable, with long-term survivability in question. There are things, events, or situations that occur that affect the way a business operates, either in a positive or negative way. These things, situations, or events that occur that affect a business in either a positive or negative way are called driving forces or environmental factors or forces. There are two kinds of driving forces; Internal driving forces, and external driving forces. Internal driving forces are those kinds of things, situations, or events that occur inside the business, and are generally under the control of the company. Examples might be as follows  · organization of machinery and equipment,  · technological capacity,  · organizational culture,  · management systems,  · financial management  · employee morale. External driving forces are those kinds of things, situation, or events that occur outside of the company and are by and large beyond the control of the company. Examples of external driving forces might be, the industry itself, the economy, demographics, competition, political interference, etc. Whether they are internal or external driving forces, one thing is certain for both. Change will occur! A company must be cognizant of these changes, flexible, and willing to respond to them in an appropriate way. External driving forces can bury a business if not appropriately dealt with. The question is, how does a business know what changes are occurring so that they can deal with them in a positive way. OK, thats the next issue. In order for a business to succeed and gain the competitive edge, the business must know what changes are indeed occurring, and what changes might be coming up in the future. I guess you might call this forecasting. Thus, critical to the business is what we call informational resources. It is the collection and analyzation of data. Some examples of critical information might include the following: * Competition (what are they doing?) * Customer behavior (needs, wants, and desires) * Industry out look (local, national, global) * Demographics (the change populations, there density, etc.) * Economy (are we peaking, or moving negatively) * Political movements and/or interference * Social environment * Technological changes * General environmental changes * Government interference (laws, regulations, policies, ect.) The above are just some issues organizations must be on top of. Well its never easy, but organizations that are successful include all of the above (and more), to develop the appropriate tactics, strategies, and best practices, to ensure successful out comes.

Over all Impacts of Hobby Lobby Case Essay Example for Free

Over all Impacts of Hobby Lobby Case Essay As the Supreme Court has ruled against the ObamaCare mandate recently, commonly referred as the The Affordable Care Act (ACA), many of the religious communities are overwhelmed about the decision and take it as a victory whereas others are outraged about this situation as women community will be greatly affected by the rulings of the court. It is a setback for the women society that in the name of religious liberty they will be deprived of their medical concerned issues. The companies that consist of religious ideology will be able to legitimize something that may harm others. Certainly these events will have constant series of effects on the society and as well as some changes may also occur in the legislation relating to ObamaCare. Obamacare covers twenty types of birth control, upon four of them; the court has objected (Tom Cohen, 2014). Hobby lobby states that it is showing efforts to provide religious freedom but majority of the public don’t agree with this statement. Instead people are outraged that it is interfering in their personal lives. It will not let them exercise there constitutional rights. Moreover they would be forced to obey or practice something that they don’t agree upon. People will not tolerate that there liberty and freedom will be in risk. Soon the similar types of entities like Hobby Lobby will be legitimizing discrimination against gays and lesbians by businesses (Salon.com, 2014). Defintly it would be unethical of doing so because what kind of an individual is having relationships is their personal right. In the name of faith and religion they will be creating barriers in there jobs and at work places. On the stance of ethical issues, the question arises about the religious liberty. Will it really make us a good Christian or minimizing our choices and freedom? It will be unacceptable by the public that the Supreme Court has legalized something that creates discrimination and deprives women from their medical rights. Indeed it is a biased decision made by the Supreme Court. In the light of the decisions made, employees of any company will be obliged to practice the religious beliefs practiced by their owners. Common people have a religious perspective that, every individual is responsible for his or her own deeds and will be answerable to God. But the decision that has been taken in this case by the court will certainly snatch the liberty from the company’s employees. Upper management will be able to force their religious beliefs and customs down the throats  of their employees. On the other hand, the decision will have negative effects on the women employees as majority of them may have a chance of suffering from medical problems for example in case of ovarian cancer, ovarian cysts, they won’t be able to get enough or no treatment because of the objection of contraceptives. Thousands of women employees of these companies would have to pay double or be out of their birth control plan (Tom Cohen, 2014). It would be unethical for the companies for interfering in their employee’s private personal medical matters. References Tom Cohen, C. (2014). Hobby Lobby ruling much more than abortion. CNN. Retrieved 4 October 2014, from http://edition.cnn.com/2014/07/02/politics/scotus-hobby-lobby-impacts/ Salon.com,. (2014). Hobby Lobbyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s secret agenda: How ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s quietly funding a vast right-wing movement. Retrieved 4 October 2014, from http://www.salon.com/2014/03/27/hobby_lobbys_secret_agenda_how_its_secretly_funding_a_vast_right_wing_movement/

How Google Demonstrates Paradoxical Thinking Business Essay

How Google Demonstrates Paradoxical Thinking Business Essay For decades, the management theorists have focused their attention on three types of thinking i.e. Magical thinking, modern thinking and postmodern thinking. The latest inclusion is the paradoxical thinking which was being studied by the researchers of the science field. The main reason that paradoxical thinking has gained importance in the business world is that there were some buzz phrases that were being used by the employees of the organisations such as controlled chaos, getting outside the box, breaking the frame of reference, creative destruction, fuzzy logic and etc. (Lovy, 2011). All of these terminologies show that a business can develop something impossible by going beyond the imaginative framework and these old models have less importance in the contemporary world. The primary crux of the paradoxical thinking is that the openness can be anything but it is indecisive, lacks principled convictions and is sometimes passionless as well (Gebert, Boerner Kearney, 2010). According to Sak and Oz (2010), paradoxical thinking implies that problems should be looked from different angles rather than one perspective so that it can be resolved effectively. The term paradox is described as a range or group of statements that are contradictory and challenge the conventional thinking parameters. Likewise, the paradoxical thinking is stated as the way of looking at a situation or a problem form a various range of perspectives and carrying out in-depth analysis to understand the problem completely (Miron-Spektor, Gino Argote, 2011). One of the best examples of the application of paradoxical thinking is evident in the work performed by Farday in about 1830s. Farday observed that when the electricity current is passed through a wire it can cause a magnetised needle to move that is located adjacent to the wire to move in a direction which is rotational; it formed the basis of electric motor invention. In order to extend his learning and thinking capabilities, he increased his efforts and found that even the moving magnets can ease the flow of electricity in the system. He challenged the ways in which the conventional theorists of physics were working so that he could make valuable contribution in the field (Kasi et al., 2008). It has been found that the companies that encourage paradoxical thinking within their culture are able to make successful progression and their success is evident from the robust performance in the industry. The paradoxical thinking is found in abundance in leading corporations especially technology related firms such as Microsoft, IBM, Apple, Dell, Google, Sony, Wal-Mart, Coca-Cola and many more. Examples of how Google demonstrates Paradoxical Thinking Google is definitely the market leader around the world as it has created a new virtual world for the Internet surfers. The company has been growing at a rapid pace in the Internet-related products and services market as it has efficiently responded to all the demands of the customers as soon as they are required by them. Since gaining top position in the market as a dominant search engine in 1988, it has ensured that it fosters a paradoxical thinking climate within its business operations (Stoltzfus, Stohl, Seibold, 2011). The basic foundation of the paradoxical thinking is that the employees have to be provided an open and innovative culture that will allow them to think a huge range of imaginative and compelling ideas that have never been offered in the market. Google was the first company to identify the need of creating an online search engine from where the people seeking information about different things can retrieve valuable information easily. When Google was thinking about introducing this offering, it had to face resistance from the traditional companies who found the idea to be unrealistic and ineffective. The owners of Google were not let down by such discouraging comments and launched this facility for the Internet users. Since then, the company has been flourishing successfully in the market and has encountered all the challenges with determination and bravery. In order to present the customers with unique offerings, Google has created a work environment that is friendly, fun-loving, enthusiastic and relaxing so that the people working there love to come to their job every day (Baldwin et al., 2010). As a result of such appealing working environment, the employees have successfully employed the concept of paradoxical thinking in the companys product and service offerings which are even evident in the form of its advertisements. The employees show creativity by sharing their ideas with the management and the ones that are compelling are implemented after some modifications. Google has a Loose-Tight structure where the employees are given autonomy to work but have to comply with the Googles unified philosophy (Korn Silverman, 2012). Following are some of the initiatives that are undertaken by Google demonstrate the application of paradoxical thinking in its business operations: In 2005, the Summer of Code mentoring program was launched for students of ages eighteen and older to get them engaged in the free and open-source software. It even made valuable contribution in the open source community. Google MentalPlex on April Fools Days feature the usage of mental power for searching the web. In 2007, it announced the introduction of TiSP (Toilet Internet Service Provider) where one could easily obtain the connection by flushing an end of the fiber-optic cable down in the toilet. It even started advertisements in 2007 about the Gmail paper that could be used by Gmail users to print and ship the email messages. It changed its company name in 2010 to Topeka to display its honour of Topeka Kansas where its Mayor changed the name of the city to Google for limited time period so that it can sway Googles decision of new Google Fiber Project. In its search engine, it added language selection features of Swedish Chef such as Bork bork bork, Pig Latin, Klingon, Elmer Fudd and Hacker. Google Map, Google Notebook and other features are all examples of the paradoxical thinking implications. Hence, innovation is properly embedded in the companys culture so that it can create something new and pioneering for its customers and enhance their online surfing time. Paradoxical Thinking Whether it can be learnt or not The proponents of paradoxical thinking state that the people have to think out of the box and do in-depth analysis of any contradictory thought because it can give rise to something new that is not present in the market (Lovy, 2011). There is no science involved in learning the paradoxical thinking as the learners just have to change their thinking patterns. Sometimes, a solution or invention may appear not to make any sense but it might appeal to the target audience. For instance, when sports cars were introduced, people were sceptical about it that whether it will be accepted in the market or not; now it is the leading choice in the sports world. Similarly, when solar cars were launched by Saturn, it had to face huge amount of criticism but it was successful in meeting the demands of its customers and providing them an energy efficient car that is beneficial for the environment (Luscher Lewis, 2008). The key requirements of developing paradoxical thinking are open mindedness, courage to take risks and experimenting with new ideas. It is important to remain alert about the absurd ideas that are present all the time in minds; they have to be noted down and then dwelt. The employees of an organisation need to be encouraged to play with even vague ideas because there are chances that a unique proposition gets clicked in the mind that can be beneficial for the companys enhanced performance. For this form of thinking, openness is crucial because it allows the individuals to learn new subjects that might not have any linkages to the profession. It is vital to extend the learning boundaries so that unleashed features can be addressed; therefore, increased exploration is the basic requirement of paradoxical thinking (Gobert, Boener Kearney, 2010). Wagner (2009) stated that the basic foundation of the paradoxical thinking is being sceptical all the time; meaning looking at the things from varying perspectives. For instance, when looking at a product, a person can think about making changes in it that can make it look more attractive or changing the style or ingredients that can appeal to other markets (Ging et al., 2010). Hence, paradoxical thinking can be learnt easily by changing the way of looking and observing things in the surroundings so that a new perspective is highlighted. 0230190406001.png (Source: Smith, Binns Tushman, 2010) Paradoxical Thinking Least used intelligence skill Since every organisation emphasises the importance of creating work environment that is conducive and comprises of competed people who have high intelligence skills, such organisations encounter problems when implementing the paradoxical thinking framework. The basics of the paradoxical thinking implies considering the irrational aspects as well so that innovation is encouraged throughout the organisation. It has been found that the paradoxical thinking is one of the eight skills that are related to the intelligence framework (Banff Executive Leadership Inc., 2010). The eight skills that are linked to the intelligence are judgement, perception, reason, intuition, imagination, logic, memory and paradox. Among all the skills mentioned, the least commonly used one is the paradoxical thinking because people are reluctant to get involved in illogical thinking. The traditional specialists still show resistance to apply the concept of paradoxical thinking within the business environment because they feel that it is not appropriate for a business to get involved in such irrational activities. However, the trend is now shifting to the paradox paradigm when the companys management have realised that the customers are looking for both functional and creative solutions (Baldwin et al., 2010). The reason that paradoxical thinking is linked to intelligence is that it allows the people to apply their thinking skills to modify the idea into something feasible that will be appealing for the end-consumers. IBM has ensured that it allows its employees to give any kinds of practical suggestions to the company that can help it in increasing its proficiency and eliminate the drawbacks that are prevalent within the firm (Miron-Spektor, Erez, Naveh, 2011). USA Today is the leading newspaper in the country and it was the first one to introduce the concept of online newspaper so that the customers can read the paper on Internet. When the owner wanted to launch this idea, majority of the people felt that it will have to encounter problems as people prefer to enhance their knowledge about the latest happenings through paper newspapers. However, the paper is considered to be the top selling newspaper in the region that has successfully met the needs of the customers especially who is looking for previous issues to get access to a particular article or piece of information (Wit Meyer, 2005). Ways in which paradoxical thinking can improve organisations performance Since the basic requirements of paradoxical thinking are open working culture and going out of the traditional ways to introduce innovative offerings, the organisations have to make these two elements the integral part of their working environments. The leaders of these companies have to show their appreciation for the efforts put in by the employees in the form of imaginative and appealing ideas so that they are encouraged to enhance their level of productivity (Wit Meyer, 2005). When employees are encouraged to become a crucial part of the organisations decision making process, it enhanced their level of motivation and they are willing to make more meaningful additions in the business processes (Miron-Spektor, Gino, Argote, 2011). In order to support the paradoxical thinking within the company, the top management has to understand that they need to create an environment which allows the employees to play with creative elements, get engaged in activities that will help them in unleashing unexploited avenues of the business operations and ensure that the customers are provided with unique offerings at a fast pace. 0010470201001.png (Source: Ging et al., (2010)) Hence, with the help of creativity, openness, innovation and sceptical thinking, the paradoxical thinking will be promoted within the business organisation. All of these factors will ensure that the companys productivity is increased, competitive edge is attained in the industry and performance continues to grow in a profitable way and at an accelerating rate. Conclusion In todays competitive environment which is being impacted by globalisation and accelerating rate of changes, the organisations have to remain alert all the time about the happenings so that the challenges can be encountered proactively. The managers and leaders of the organisations have to foster an innovative climate within the firms so that the paradoxical thinking can be nurtured which will ultimately make significant contribution in their enhanced performance.

The aim of the experiment is to find out the effect of different :: GCSE Chemistry Coursework Investigation

The aim of the experiment is to find out the effect of different concentrations of reactants on rate of reaction. Rates of Reaction Aim The aim of the experiment is to find out the effect of different concentrations of reactants on rate of reaction. I will find this out by doing an experiment. The reaction that will be used is: Sodium Thiosulphate + Hydrochloric Acid Na2S2O3 + 2HCl Equipment The equipment I will use to do this experiment is:  · Goggles  · Test tubes  · Beakers  · Hydrochloric Acid  · Sodium Thiosulphate  · Water  · X marked paper Background Information The Collision Theory is when particles collide with enough energy to break their bonds if they are to react. Collision means when two particles hit each other. Breaking a solid exposes new surfaces, the smaller the pieces the greater the surface area. Safety Measures A pair of goggles will be worn in order to protect the eyes. Fair Test In order for my findings to be valid the experiment must be fair. I will use the same standard each time for judging when the X has disappeared. I will make sure that the measuring cylinders for the Hydrochloric acid and Sodium Thiosulphate will not be mixed up. The amount of Hydrochloric acid will be 10cm3 each time. Prediction I predict that by increasing the concentration of one of the reactants the rate of reaction will increase because they are likely to collide quicker. Method I first of all start of by wearing goggles as Hydrochloric Acid is an irritant to the eyes. After that I got all equipment out I needed to perform this experiment. Test Tube Beaker X marked paper I firstly put 10cm3 of hydrochloric acid into the beaker which I measured with the test tube. After I put the x marked paper under the beaker. I then poured in the volume of Sodium Thiosulphate and the concentration of it which was 50cm3. Set off the stopwatch and waited to see when the x marked paper is not visible. I repeatedly did this 3 times for each one. Finally, I recorded the results on a results table. Conclusions My results show that if you add more concentration of sodium Thiosulphate and less water to the hydrochloric acid the particles collide more because so the rate of reaction increases. When I repeated my results and experiment the times were similar meaning that I was very accurate with my experiment and judgement. Evaluation I only really encountered one problem which was do the experiment in the amount of time that was given to us and Sodium Thiosulphate ran out during the experiment but that was quickly resolved as borrowed some of my friend who is also doing the experiment.

The History of Montserrat :: Essays Papers

The history of the island of Montserrat has been characterized by instability from the time of its discovery to its present-day status as a Dependent Overseas Territory of Great Britain. With a wide range of concerns regarding the issue of independence, the inhabitants of Montserrat remain unsure of their ability to maintain their own economic development and survive without financial assistance from Britain. The geography of Montserrat has consistently posed a threat to the people of the island, whose lives are largely dependent on the land they inhabit. The first Europeans to spot Montserrat did so on 10 November 1493, as Columbus’ ship sailed from Guadeloupe towards Hispaniola. Though he named the island, Columbus and the Spanish took little interest in Montserrat, and nothing more was written about the island by a European until July 1631. At that time, Amerindians were using the island, though perhaps not living there, and no Europeans had settled Montserrat. However, only two-and-a-half years later, in January 1634, another written account describes Montserrat as having been settled by Irish Catholics (Pulsipher 1986 7). The first settlers of Montserrat were most likely from St. Kitts and arrived there in 1632 (Rogozinski 75). By the 1650s, English and Anglo-Irish landowners formed the wealthy ruling class, and Irish indentured servants formed the bulk of the population (Pulsipher 1986 12). Many of the first Irish Catholic settlers came from Virginia, New England, and the British Isles (Pulsipher 1986 7). Of the white population in 1678, 70% were Irish indentured servants (Rogozinski 76). There were also several hundred African slaves living on Montserrat by 1654 (Pulsipher 1986 12). The British landowners used their servants and slaves to grow cash crops such as tobacco, indigo, cotton, and sugar (Pulsipher 1986 8). By the early 1680s, Montserrat was a â€Å"sugar island,† and by 1700 was shipping 29 million pounds of sugar to England and Wales annually (Pulsipher 1986 12). During this time there were a number of restrictive laws passed by the British government to regulate trade and exporting, particularly for the purpose of eliminating Dutch traders from interfering in their affairs. By the 1650s, the Dutch had established themselves as a source of connection between the Caribbean islands and the rest of the world and went so far as to build a number of warehouses for the protection of market-ready crops on Montserrat (Pulsipher 1986 8). The History of Montserrat :: Essays Papers The history of the island of Montserrat has been characterized by instability from the time of its discovery to its present-day status as a Dependent Overseas Territory of Great Britain. With a wide range of concerns regarding the issue of independence, the inhabitants of Montserrat remain unsure of their ability to maintain their own economic development and survive without financial assistance from Britain. The geography of Montserrat has consistently posed a threat to the people of the island, whose lives are largely dependent on the land they inhabit. The first Europeans to spot Montserrat did so on 10 November 1493, as Columbus’ ship sailed from Guadeloupe towards Hispaniola. Though he named the island, Columbus and the Spanish took little interest in Montserrat, and nothing more was written about the island by a European until July 1631. At that time, Amerindians were using the island, though perhaps not living there, and no Europeans had settled Montserrat. However, only two-and-a-half years later, in January 1634, another written account describes Montserrat as having been settled by Irish Catholics (Pulsipher 1986 7). The first settlers of Montserrat were most likely from St. Kitts and arrived there in 1632 (Rogozinski 75). By the 1650s, English and Anglo-Irish landowners formed the wealthy ruling class, and Irish indentured servants formed the bulk of the population (Pulsipher 1986 12). Many of the first Irish Catholic settlers came from Virginia, New England, and the British Isles (Pulsipher 1986 7). Of the white population in 1678, 70% were Irish indentured servants (Rogozinski 76). There were also several hundred African slaves living on Montserrat by 1654 (Pulsipher 1986 12). The British landowners used their servants and slaves to grow cash crops such as tobacco, indigo, cotton, and sugar (Pulsipher 1986 8). By the early 1680s, Montserrat was a â€Å"sugar island,† and by 1700 was shipping 29 million pounds of sugar to England and Wales annually (Pulsipher 1986 12). During this time there were a number of restrictive laws passed by the British government to regulate trade and exporting, particularly for the purpose of eliminating Dutch traders from interfering in their affairs. By the 1650s, the Dutch had established themselves as a source of connection between the Caribbean islands and the rest of the world and went so far as to build a number of warehouses for the protection of market-ready crops on Montserrat (Pulsipher 1986 8).

The Impact of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire Essay -- American History

During the early 1900s industrial fires or accidents were common place; injuries and the loss of life may have outraged a few people but like all tragedies the outrage would pass quickly and it would back to business as usual. One such tragedy occurred on Saturday, March 25th, 1911, it was closing time at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory and hundreds of employees were preparing to leave when a fire broke out on the 8th floor trapping Jewish and Italian immigrants, the majority of them young women. One hundred and forty-six people died in futile attempts to escape the burning ten story building. The main doors were during the day kept locked and only one doorway was opened for the hundreds of employees to file out, one by one, as their belongings were searched for pilfered goods. Blanck and Harris, owners of the Triangle Shirtwaist factory, faced no consequences in regards to the unsafe working environment and the death of their employees. David von Drehle, in his book, Triangle, The F ire That Changed America, states that this particular fire changed the political and industrial landscape of the United States; it was no longer ignored by the working masses nor was it quickly dismissed by the public - the public consisted of a huge immigration population from Europe, the â€Å"transfer of labor power and brain power† that eventually lead to women’s striking in the garment industry and setting a precedent in New York (Triangle, 3, 4). Several groups like the moneyed, educated elite women, the muckrakers, the Labor Unions, and the political machines that controlled neighborhoods of New York pushed for political, economic, and legal changes to the industrial systems - in a democratic social time of reform – they were like much welcomed rain ... ...kers from hazardous environments. The changes after the Triangle Shirtwaist fire involved 4 main groups and public voters. No single group alone had the far reaching effects like the progressive movement, politically liberal and socially democratic. Without all four groups putting pressure on the legal system, the media exposing the flaws of the current industrial, political system along with the uprising that is the beginning of women’s suffrage, the labor laws would not have undergone the radical changes that are the backbone of modern day labor laws. The fact all doors must remain open and unlocked during business hours, in 21st century America, arose from the ashes of the fatal Triangle Shirtwaist fire, To the deceased, American manufacturing employees are grateful, though they may not be entirely knowledgeable about the origins of their current labor laws.

Explain Kant’s Moral Argument

Explain Kant’s Moral Argument Kant’s moral argument focuses on reason, good will, duty and the notion that we ought to strive towards moral perfection (Summum Bonum). He believes that people are ruled by a ‘moral law’. This moral law for Kant was universal and objective. An example of this might be seen in the wide scale agreement that murder or torture is wrong. There seems to be agreement across cultures that certain actions are intrinsically wrong. This, for Kant, suggests that there is a universal objective moral law.He believed that the highest form of goodness was the notion of good will, namely that someone would freely choose to do good for no reward whatsoever, only for the sake of goodness. Moreover, Kant believed that we have a moral duty to do such good things. He would argue that we have an awareness of what is right and wrong and that good will should make us act accordingly as reason dictates this to be the case. In a way it doesn’t ma ke any rational sense to act in an immoral way.Duty was seen by Kant as a way of fulfilling this end without being misguided by emotion or factors of personal gain. It is here that we come to a key point in Kant’s argument, namely the notion of ‘ought’ implies ‘can’. He believed that we can only have a duty to do something that we can do. For example, I cannot have a duty to fly unaided as it is not something that I can do; or if I were to come across someone drowning in a lake but could not swim Kant would suggest that I would not have a duty to jump in and save them.My duty in the latter case would be to find someone who could swim so I would need to raise the alarm. If I can choose to do the good (using reason, good will and duty) in one case then I should be able to do this in every case, moreover that I have a duty to achieve this moral perfection. Kant called this moral perfection the Summum Bonum. He argued that the Summum Bonum was a state of moral perfection existing coincidently with perfect happiness. For Kant, the problem for human beings acting morally was that it did not lead to happiness.I could be the most moral person in the world yet personal tragedy could befall me, while another individual may lead an immoral life and be happy in some way. This would appear to make the world unfair and would potentially discourage us from acting morally at all. Kant believed that we must have a duty to achieve the Summum Bonum and because it was not achievable in this lifetime that we must be able to achieve this in the next life. Kant does not see this as ‘proof’ of God’s xistence only that it hints towards their being a higher being such as God who gives humans this sense of duty, and gives us the initiative to act morally in order to achieve perfection. The conclusion of Kant’s moral argument is that God must exist as a postulate of practical reason. Without the existence of God we cannot have t he afterlife and we would not be able to fulfil our obligation of reaching the Summum Bonum. Therefore God is necessary to ensure fairness in the universe and provide the exact coincidence of moral perfection and perfect happiness known as the Summum Bonum.

Enhancement (Philosophy) Essay

Cognitive enhancement is the improvement of one’s mental capacity and or mental attributes such as personality, where it is considered optional and not medically necessary (Schmidt-Felzmann, 2012). Enhancement is different to treatment as treatment is linked to the curing of an illness, whereas enhancement is merely improving an already medically healthy body or mind, however, at times it is quite difficult to draw a line between the two (Schmidt-Felzmann, 2012). Types of enhancements include improving one’s athletic abilities through the use of steroids, undergoing cosmetic surgery which is deemed medically unnecessary, or, reducing one’s need to sleep through the consumption of drugs such as Provigil. Enhancements can even encompass things that are commonly availed of every day, such as the consumption of caffeine (Schmidt-Felzmann, 2012). There are many ethical and practical concerns in relation to cognitive enhancement and whether or not it should be allowed such as Authenticity (Keeping true to oneself), which is a key concern , with both proponents and opponents of cognitive enhancement interpreting authenticity in different ways (Parens, 2005). Two ethical frameworks have developed which try to answer the questions raised by cognitive enhancement and indeed enhancement in general, these frameworks are known as the existentialist model (Self creation) and the Rousseauean model (Gratitude) (Parens, 2005). These frameworks differ on whether or not cognitive enhancement should be allowed, the existentialist model being in favour of cognitive enhancement and the Rousseauean model opposed to the application of it (Schmidt-Felzmann, 2012). Along with authenticity there are other major ethical concerns that could arise from the widespread use of cognitive enhancing methods, namely drugs (Butcher, 2003). Such concerns include a possible increase in the gap between rich and poor and the possibility of the loss of values, namely the value of hard work, which helps make a human being what they are (Butcher, 2003). Philosophers and indeed people in general who favour the existentialist model value autonomy greatly and therefore believe that so long as a human being does not harm another, they should be free to do with their body or mind what they please. If these things may be quite ridiculous and inadvisable, existentialist still believe that they should be condoned, so long as the person in question is well informed on the issue (Schmidt-Felzmann, 2012). There is also a view that Humans not only have the ability but may also have the responsibility to enhance their condition, not only through normal everyday enhancements but also through artificial means, which are not seen as qualitatively different (within existentialist circles) to everyday enhancements (Schmidt-Felzmann, 2012). There are, however, some problems with this framework. For instance, in many cases the individual who is given a cognitive enhancement, is not always fully autonomous (Schmidt-Felzmann, 2012). This is the case in many poor urban areas in the United States, in many schools in these areas up to a third of boys now take Ritalin, even though a large portion of them do not suffer from ADHD (Farah et al. 2004). Using enhancements to simply subdue easily distracted and unruly children could be seen as ethically wrong, this is because a large percentage of children simply are naturally unruly and easily distracted (Farah et al. 2004). To change this, could be seen as changing the personality of the child in question to such an extent that they are essentially no longer the same child, here we see the question of authenticity rise again (Parens, 2005). It is in situations such as these that we see a clear divide between the two frameworks. Most proponents of framework one (self-creation) would be in favour of this sort of cognitive enhancement as they would view the child as essentially the same person, only improved, while the opponents of this framework hold a different belief (Parens, 2005). Proponents of framework two, or the Rousseauean model, place huge importance in the value of â€Å"the given† (Schmidt-Felzmann, 2012). In other words, they believe we should not tamper past our natural potential. This however gives rise to problematic questions, such as, where can we draw the line between natural and artificial enhancements? (Schmidt-Felzmann, 2012). Framework two argues that cognitive enhancement ignores fundamental facts about the human mind and its limits, it asserts that these limits should be respected. These beliefs could also be seen as a breach of authenticity. When we think of the effects that cognitive enhancement could have on human authenticity we think of the effects it might have on the identity of an individual. While this is important, it is also important to look at the human race as a whole and how cognitive enhancement and enhancement in general might affect its authenticity. From the Stone Age right up to the current social age, humans have constantly strove to improve themselves and their quality of life. In recognition of this, it could be argued that to not enhance our current state of being would be in violation of our nature and of our identity as human beings. When this view is taken it becomes clear that the Rousseauean model can also lead to a breach in authenticity, this, along with other reasons is perhaps why a large portion of philosophers show a certain level of ambivalence towards the two frameworks when it comes to major ethical matters (Parens, 2005). Enhancement, cognitive enhancement in particular, raises many ethical concerns. As already discussed, authenticity is a prime concern, however there are also other important matters which need to be considered before any decision is made on whether or not cognitive enhancement should be allowed. For instance, the introduction of cognitive enhancing drugs could lead to a widening in the gap between rich and poor (Butcher, 2003). This would be that case as such drugs would likely be out of reach (financially) to the lower classes of society. In the long term further problems would arise, as the poor would likely have little or no access to these cognitive enhancing drugs, the upper class would essentially develop into generally more intelligent beings. This would make it far harder for a member of the lower class to compete for college places or jobs (Butcher, 2003). It has been argued, however, that the risk of a widening of the gap between the wealthy and the poor should not be a factor to stand against the introduction of cognitive enhancers as enhancers such as third level education already do this (Butcher, 2003). Another ethical issue is the possibility of the loss of the value of hard work (Butcher, 2003). While this may not seem like such a pressing issue, one must first fully consider the implications this may have in the long term. Humans may use there increased level of intelligence irresponsibly due to a lack of experience gained from having to work hard to overcome obstacles. Along with these issues the safety of such drugs is also an important matter (Farah et al. 2004). It is clear from these observations that the possibility of distribution of cognitive enhancers amongst the public is a very contentious issue, which makes the question â€Å"Should cognitive enhancement be allowed? † a very difficult one to answer. In my opinion, cognitive enhancement should be allowed, although only under certain conditions. The production of such enhancers should be undertaken only by the government so as to ensure the fair and equal distribution of cognitive enhancers amongst all social classes. Drugs should be extensively tested before mainstream introduction in order to assure the safety of the product. These measures may, however, not be enough. Governments would have the means to manipulate the public by introducing other properties to cognitive enhancing drugs, For instance they could use certain ingredients to create a more patriotic and docile population this would be a prime concern in politically unstable countries or in those of communist leanings. Should the entire population of a country regularly take a drug, which was deemed essential to take, untold damage could be done to the human condition. A world without free will could develop, with the world population under the control of one drug, and those who produced it. Perhaps the cognition of the human race is not yet evolved enough to consider its enhancement. Bibliography: Parens, Erik. (2005) â€Å"Authenticity and Ambivalence: Toward Understanding the Enhancement debate† Hastings Center Report, Vol. 35, Number 3, May-June, pp. 34-41. Schmidt-Felzmann, Heike. (2010) â€Å"Personal Identity and Human Nature: The Enhancement Debate, Heike Schmidt-Felzmann 12/10/12. † Philosophical questions & issues. [online. ] Available at: https://nuigalway. blackboard. com/webapps/portal/frameset. jsp? tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_31108_1%26url%3D%252Fwebapps%252Fblackboard%252Fexecute%252FdisplayIndividualContent%253Fmode%253Dview%2526content_id%253D_419734_1%2526course_id%253D_31108_1 (Accessed: 03/12/12.) Butcher, James. (2003) â€Å"Cognitive enhancement raises ethical concerns† The Lancet, Vol 362 (9378) p. p 132–133. Farah, Martha J. Illes, Judy. Cook-Deegan, Robert. Gardner, Howard. Kandel, Eric. King, Patricia. Parens, Eric. Sahakian, Barbara & Root Wolpe, Paul. (2004) â€Å"Neurocognitive enhancement: what can we do and what should we do? † Nature Reviews Neuroscience, Vol: 5. P. p 421-425.

A Short Story By O’ Henry Essay

Themes: Death and Dying: Last leaf is a short story that entails the treasury of life and the existence of faith and hope. It need to the importance of living and how we deal with the hindrances we battle through our life story. It is a moving story across the traps that come across us in the most significant parts of our lives, the value of life is the centerpiece of story, where all the things go back and revolve†¦Apart of this story gives us a hint that God is the only one who knows that whether we ride on with life and chances or trail on and be drawn against the judgment, the melodramatic and picturesque setting of the story connects to the negative status of main character facing life and death subject matter. Pessimism: Johnsy the main character seems to be a very pessimistic person. She has lost the entire positive attitude in life due to her disease and she is waiting for her death. â€Å"Your little lady has made up her mind that she’s not going to get well. Has she anything on her mind† That is the first step of Jhonsy that she has made up her mind that she will die when the last leaf fall. That signifies the mental and psychological conditionn of her and is describing the theme of pessimistic. â€Å"She was looking out of window and counting -counting backwards† The psychological disturbances shown by O’ Henry in these lines as she is tired of waiting that when the last leaf falls, she will be near to death. â€Å"When the last one falls I must go, too.† Here in these lines Henry has showed extreme pessimism. It is the last one, said Johnsy â€Å"I thought it would surely fall during the night. I heard the wind. It will fall today, and I shall die at the same time.† These words literated by jonsy again show her desperate and chaotic state of mind. She has supposed the things which have no logic and waiting for her death, or waiting for the last leaf to fall. Self-Sacrifice: Mr. Behrman risks his life for Johnsy. He has sacrificed his own life, to give life to Johnsy the painting he made at the wall, shows his self sacrificing, kind and noble nature. He himself catches the pneumonia and  dies, but he didn’t let Johnsy to die. With the character of Mr. Buhrmann, O’ Henry is showing the sacrificing mature of a man and it gives us a message that self sacrificing is a great deed and one has to kind and gentle towards others. â€Å"Mr. Buhrmann died of pneumonia today in hospital.† Hope: Theme of hope is very nicely presented in this story. Doctor is a very optimistic person and he tries to make Johnsy realized that is she has made her mind that she will die when the last leaf fall that could be harmful for her. He told her that he can only provide her medicine and that is effective as 50 cent, the next situation is in her hand. â€Å"I subtract 50 percent from the curative power of medicines.† If you will get her to ask one question about the new writer styles in cloak sleeves I will promise you one-in-five chance for her, instead of† So O’ Henry conveys message one never let go for hope and optimist approach in life. It is out state of mind which can bring worse or better for us in our lives â€Å"Sadie, someday I hope to point the bay of Naples† These lines show Johnsy’s desires and aspirations. It gives the picture of hope and this hope in life gives us the spirit of living in this world. Love and Friendship: In last leaf O’ Henry describes friendship and bondage between two friends. They care and love each other, and she supports Johnsy morally when she falls ill. She proves to be great support for Johnsy and she tries her level best to bring back Johnsy towards life and in the world of optimism. â€Å"Dear, Dear!† said she, learning her won face down to the pillow † think of me, if you won’t think of yourself. What would I do?† These lines show the effective relationship between two friends. Mr. Behrman also shows great deal of love for these girls. Although he is bit careless person but he really cared for Johnsy and his love is shown by his painting for the sake of Johnsy’s life. What is the theme of The Last Leaf by O Henry? The theme of this story is definitely self-sacrifice. Mr. Behrman sacraficed his own health for Johnsy. — One theme of this story is that you should never judge someone by what they appear to be, but by their actions. Behrman acts fierce and aggressive, but his actions show how much he cares about Johnsy. I learned to judge people, not by their looks, but by their actions, because ultimately, actions are the things that make an impact — Passion, hope and personal sacrifice. O Henry gives people hope in a quickly transforming world where big bussinesses and technology were taking over artsy New York. it is about the love between those friends

The Manager as a Critical Thinker

The 10 steps of critical thinking Include: What are the issue and conclusion, what are the reasons, what words or phrases are ambiguous, what are the value and descriptive assumptions, are there any fallacies in the reasoning, how good is the evidence, are there any rival causes, are the statistics deceptive, what significant information has been omitted, what reasonable conclusions are possible. The book stated that â€Å"an Issue Is a question or controversy responsible for the conversation or discussion. It Is the stimulus for what is being said† (Browne & Kelley, 2012).The book goes on to dividing the issue into two categories: descriptive and prescriptive. The book defines descriptive issues as those that cause people to question the accuracy of vents In the past, present or future. And prescriptive Issues are those that raise questions about what is the right thing versus the wrong thing to do, good versus bad, what we should do. The issue in this scenario falls under th e descriptive category. The CEO of PAS Manufacturing, Raymond Sesame's compensation is significantly higher compared to the salary of Coos in other companies with similar characteristics.James was hired In 2003 for a five year appointment with the starting salary at $400,000. During the first three years, the contract promised him raises of %, 5% and 7% consecutively. After the first three years, the Coo's compensation continued to increase significantly while the company experienced zero growth In the year of 2006 and continued to experience loss ever since without signs of recovery. The impact of Sesame's high compensation made headlines in a local newspaper. Employees of PAS are also expressing discontent with their current CEO.As a conclusion, the senior vice president of Human Resources at PAS wrote a memo to the Board of Directors advising the board that the compensation for the current CEO s misaligned with the industry average. He is hoping that the Board would consider sear ching for a new candidate to replace James who would be able to contribute to the company's growth. There are several reasons provided by the Director of HRS to support his recommendation In replacing the current CEO with a new candidate. Browne and Kelley define reason as explanations or rationales that support the validity of a conclusion (2012, P. 30).In this case, the first reason is evidently provided in the table that compares the Coo's salary to the company's growth rate from 2003 o 2009. The Coo's raise percentage continued to rise by 2 percent every year while the company's growth seized In year 2006 and exhibit a loss trend In subsequent years. The HRS Director believes that compensation should be based on performance, 1 OFF reflect his performance. Another reason is that other Coo's from companies with the same characteristics as PAS were only averaging about $391 ,659 in 2007 while Sesame's salary was as much as $100,000 over the national average.It indicates that the co mpany is spending â€Å"unnecessary' money. Lastly, the number of dissatisfaction or the current CEO is growing among the employees of PAS. The HRS Director fears that if union workers have lost respect for the CEO, it would be hard to stop other groups from losing faith as well. The next step is identifying the words or phrases that seem ambiguous in this situation. The book stated that ambiguous words or phrases should be looked in the reasons or conclusion areas because the author wants the reader to accept a conclusion. Therefore, I should look for words or phrases that affect my decision (P. 41).In the last sentence, the HRS Director said that e hopes the successor â€Å"will be more hard-working and willing to do what is necessary' which all sound very ambiguous. Because he never mentioned previously what constitutes as hard-working. Hard-working could mean different things to different people. And â€Å"willing to do what is necessary', what does that mean exactly? There s eems to be implied meanings to this phrase. A person might think doing whatever necessary as breaking the laws to achieve the goal while others might have an entirely different interpretation. Another ambiguous word is â€Å"greatness† in the same sentence.Greatness could also mean many things in this case. It could mean that the company is able to recover its losses or the company is able to regain the trust from partners and employees. Once again, it is hard to determine exactly what the Director want to express by using these words and phrases. The next stage of critical thinking is identifying the value and descriptive assumptions. According to the text, â€Å"a value assumption is an implicit preference for one value over another in a particular context† while â€Å"a descriptive assumption is an unstated belief about how the world was, is or will become† (P. ). The HRS Director considers pay for performance as the best method to determine compensation. By supporting this idea, he believes that productivity is the determining factor in evaluating how good a worker is. Therefore, he prefers his company to follow the industry best practices in determining the Coo's pay rather than the current practice. The descriptive assumption in this case is the belief that the company's performance will improve under the direction and management of a new CEO. In other words, the company's status cannot be improved by other means except for the replacement of the CEO.There are several fallacies that the author used to persuade the reader's opinion in this situation. The author attacked the Coo's personality by pointing out that a local newspaper recently quoted the CEO saying the following line; â€Å"I'm worth every penny I'm paid; this town owes everything to me and my family'. This is an attempt to show that the CEO has disputable character and that he is a cocky ungrateful man. The author also went on to say that the CEO is a very wealthy man as the only grandson of the company's founder. And because of his financial status, he has no inventive to ark hard for this company to strive.Another fallacy that was used is the slippery slope technique in which the author assumes that one event will set off a chain of uncontrollable and undesirable outcomes. The author said that once union workers lose respect for the CEO by circulating an unflattering comic representation it will losing faith in the CEO as well. Next step in critical thinking is to determine the validity of the evidence presented. The first evidence provided by the author is the table listing the Coo's annual raise versus the company's annual growth rate from he company's Human Resources Department.This evidence could be considered as valid because these are probably based on exact figures provided on payroll as well as the company's financial statements. The next evidence that the author presents is the average salary for other CEO in the same industry. At first glance, by using the phrase â€Å"according to the Economic Research Institute†, it would cause the reader to think that this must be a reliable source. But when looking at the footnote at the bottom of the page, the source was Just a salary calculator providing estimates.There re no concrete facts to support that the figure presented was the actual average for the industry. That makes the source not very reliable on its accuracy. The author went on to say that research shows that Coo's median total compensation fell yet the source for this research is from wick. Wick is not considered as a scholarly source for research. The next evidence provided is the survey of executive pay practices. The author stated that 64% from that survey reported salary freeze yet the author never stated how large the sample size was and failed to mention if the sample was Mandalay selected or not.Surveys are often biased because it fail to truly represent how people truly feel instead people fill out answers as they think they have to give. Lastly, the author quoted another cite citing other cities. The author used a source that was quoted in the Baltimore Sun without examining to see if the original source is dependable or not. Lastly, the statement that â€Å"everyone in the Human Resources field knows† is a generalization. The book defines this as â€Å"a person draws a conclusion about a large group based on experience with only a few members of the group.The author clearly has not met with everyone in the HRS field, therefore, he use his experience as being the HRS director to support his claim that this is the thinking of the whole field. The next step in critical thinking in the book is looking for rival causes. The books definition of â€Å"a rival cause is a plausible alternative explanation that can explain why a certain outcome occurred† (P. 128). The author was citing several sources to support his claim that the median compensation for CEO in the industry fell during Sesame's terms, as well as a lot of companies were freezing or rimming salaries for their executives.The author also cited another claim from a source stating that indeed, excessive CEO compensation was the actual cost of the economic recession in the United States during those years. This is the cause that the writer wants the readers to believe that the growth of PAS has stalled over the years is due to excessive compensation. There could be many other reasons that could arguably be the reason why the United States was experiencing a recession during that period such as high unemployment rate, foreign policy, war spending, amount of unsecured loans, etc.Clearly, high CEO compensation cannot be considered as the sole cause of the recession as the author wants us to believe. The author in this scenario used several statistics in trying to support his claim. First he said that the medial total compensation fell by 7. 5 percent, in this case, we weren't provided w ith the base number to determine if 7. 5 percent was significant or not. Once again, the author claimed that 64 percent of companies responding to the survey reported that omitted the total number of companies. 64 percent is an impressive number and we old have been easily swayed if we didn't question the use of statistics.