Cost Club Scenario Essay

Introduction Every employee has fundamental rights in the workplace that include their right to privacy, fair compensation and free from discrimination. Even applicants have rights before they are hired as an employee. Some of those rights include discrimination that is based solely on a person’s race, gender, age, religion, national origin, or during the hiring process (FindLaw, 2014). Employee Privacy * Employees have the right to privacy with regards to their personal possessions * This includes their purses, handbags. Briefcases, lockers.* Employees have limited rights with respect to e-mail messages and internet usage while using Cost Clubs computer system * Employers do not have the right to conduct a credit checks or background checks on an employee or perspective employee without the express written permission of the employee (FindLaw, 2014). Employee Unions Under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), employers are forbidden from interfering in an employee’s right to organize, or to join or assist in a labor organization for collective bargaining purposes, or prohibit working together to improve terms and conditions of their place of employment. Union employer’s may not coerce their employees in exercising any of their rights such as (National Labor Relations Board, 2014): * It is illegal for an employer to threaten their employees with the loss of their jobs or benefits if they choose to join or vote for a union or participate in protected concerted activity. * Threaten employees with plant closure should their employees choose to have union representation. * Employers are not to question employees about their union activities or sympathies * Promise employees benefits in order to discourage union support * Punishing  employees for engaging in union or protected concerted activity * Retaliating against an employee by transferring, laying off, terminating, assigning employees to more difficult work task or for filing an unfair labor practice charges or participating in an NLRB investigation (National Labor Relations Board, 2014). Occupational Safety and Health Administration Under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (,OSHA) employers have a responsibility to their employees to provide a safe environment for their employees. Employers are responsible for providing their employees with a workplace free of serious hazards and must follow all OSHA safety and health standards as well as identify and correct any safety or health problems found. It is also the employer’s responsibility to (United States Department of Labor, 2014). * Keep employees informed about hazards through the offering of training, labeling, alarms, systems that are color coded, material safety data sheets that pertain to chemicals and other methods. * Employees are to be trained in a manner in which they can fully understand * Employers are to maintain accurate and complete records of any work-related injuries or illnesses that may occur in the workplace. * Employers are to post any citations, injuries and illness data where is it easily viewed by employees. * OSHA is to be notified by the employer within eight hours should there be a workplace fatality or when three or more workers have been injured or hospitalized due to an accident. * Display the official OSHA poster that describes the rights and responsibilities in plain view for employees to read per the OSHA Act (United States Department of Labor, 2014). Employee Retirement Income Security Act Compliance assistance under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) sets the minimum standards for retirement and health benefit plans in private industry. Although ERISA does not require an employer to provide a retirement plan or to provide benefits it only requires those who have established plans meet and follow a level of standards. ERISA covers retirement, health, and other welfare benefit plans. (United States Department of Labor, 2014): * Meet ERISA standards of conduct * Employers are to assure that the funds of the plan are protected and that  participants who qualify will receive their benefits. * Employers are to include new health laws * Employers are to provide a continuation of health care coverage for an employee that due to certain events would result in a reduction ,in their benefits. * The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) amended ERISA to make health care coverage available for employees that have either been terminated or have quit (United States Department of Labor, 2014). Fair Labor Standards Act The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is responsible for setting and establishing a minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and youth employment standards that affect employees in the private sector andFederal, State and local governments (United States Department of Labor, 2014). * The wage for covered nonexempt workers is $ 7.25 per hours * Overtime pay to be at the rate of one-half times their regular pay after a 40 hour workweek. * There is no limit to anyone 16 years or older to the amount of hours they may work. * FLSA does not require Cost Club to pay overtime for weekends, holidays for an employees, regular days off, unless overtime is typically worked on those days. * Employers are required to display the official poster of the FLSA. (United States Department of Labor, 2014). Conclusion In order to ensure and maintain a high moral level of employee behavior. Employees of Cost Club must fully understand the ethical and legal implications of their decisions. As they relate to their employees personal and professional values. This should be reflected at every level upper, and lower management included. Cost Club needs to develop and implement a Business Code of Ethics that can be reviewed with all employees at all Cost Club locations. By implementing a Business Code of Ethics, Cost Club will weave together not only the legal principles of employment, but the moral issues that commonly arise in employment issues. These ethical behaviors are vital to Cost Clubs overall success. The stakeholders of Cost Club are able to take direction from Cost Clubs, Business Code of Conduct. And when an ethical dilemma occurs the code will become one of the employee’s best tools for dealing with the dilemma. When Cost Club chooses to engage in employee monitoring, this practice will be posted and announced to all employees.  Employees need to understand the laws and Cost Clubs corporations, policies along with the Business Code of Conduct. Cost Club also needs to exercise restraint in looking over their employees shoulders when it comes to use of the internet and email. (Mujtaba, 2014). When everyone understands all the ground rules then the workplace environment at Cost Club will be fair. If Cost Clubs employees are being ethical and following the policies he or she should not be concerned with monitoring and at the same time Cost Club should conduct their monitoring of employees within the guidelines of the law (Mujtaba, 2014). References FindLaw. (2014). Employee rights 101. Retrieved April 13, 2014, from http://employment.findlaw.com/employment-discrimination/employees-rights-101.html. Mujtaba, B. G. (2014). Ethical implications of employee monitoring: What leaders should consider. Retrieved April 13, 2014, from http://www.huizenga.nova.edu/Jame/articles/employee-monitoring.cfm. National Labor Relations Board. (2014). Employer/union rights and obligations. Retrieved April 13, 2014, from http://www.nlrb.gov/rights-we-protect/employerunion-rights-and-obligations. United States Department of Labor. (2014). Employee retirement income security act ERISA. Retrieved April 13, 2014, from http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/health-plans/erisa.htm. United Stated Department of Labor. (2014). Employer rights and responsibilities following an OSHA inspection. Retrieved April 13, 2014, from https://www.osha.gov/Publications/osha3000.html#12. United States Department of Labor. (2014). Wage and hour division. Retrieved April 13, 2014, fro m http://www.dol.gov/whd/flsa/.

Leadership: do traits matter? Essay

Managers need skillful and talented leaders to make an organization successful. The reason is that talented leaders can drive their subordinates to achieve goals and objectives of an organization. That will enable organizations to stay competitive in the market. To be a successful leader there should be several qualities. Such as effective communication skills, effective decision making, effective planning, effective coaching skills, effective people management skills and effective motivating skills. These qualities of a competent leader are needed to plan to meet the requirements of an organization. Sailan also should have leaders who have above-mentioned qualities while facing a turbulent situation. As mentioned above Sailan has been failing to produce good advanced level and ordinary level results. Because of that, it has been difficult to achieve the competitive advantage for them as well. (ukessays, 2017) The following methods can be used to review current leadership requirements of Sailan international school. 360-degree feedback – according to Linda (2014) through this 360 feedback employees or managers can get feedbacks regarding their strengths and weaknesses or competencies from peers, supervisors, direct reports and customers. According to (Neil, 2017)this method can be used to evaluate the performance of the whole organization. Especially weaknesses of employees can be identified. This method is so important for Sailan. The reason is that while facing a turbulent situation identifying weaknesses of teachers and the principal is very important. If there is any weakness in teaching the principal/ leader can arrange training programs to improve teaching skills. If there is any weakness in controlling teachers of the principal, director of education can send him for some leadership programs. When this happens Sailan will be able to produce good results and achieve the vision. Even teachers can get a clear picture of their performance by this method. Blake and Mouton managerial grid – according to Peiris (2016) the managerial grid includes various techniques to evaluate leadership requirements. This grid is an important tool for managers to analyze their own leadership styles. According to Patty (2013), this grid has 81 leadership styles. Some of them are impoverished management, country club, task management, middle of the road, team management and team management. With the problem that Sailan faces at the moment team management is appropriate for Sailan. According to this leaders encourage and motivate their employees. Even leaders get a lot of respect from their employees. The principal can appoint sectional heads who can get respect from teachers. Then Sectional heads/ leaders of Sailan can motivate teachers to produce good results and achieve the vision. When teachers become loyal to the sectional heads those teachers will give their best to Sailan. That will enable Sailan to provide high-quality teaching for students . SWOT analysis – SOFT analysis can be used to recognize strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of an organization. Internal and external factors can be identified by this analysis. (Mike, 2016)Â   When considering the strengths of Sailan, which has got a lot of facilities in comparison to other international schools in that particular area. For example, they have their own ground, an auditorium that more than 1500 people can be seated. Even an indoor stadium (almost finished) and a swimming pool have been under construction. The discipline of Sailan has been really good when compared with other international schools. That is one of the main reasons that most of the parents are willing to send their children to Sailan. The main opportunity of Sailan is that this is mainly a Muslim community-based school. So easily they can get the attraction of Muslims who are living in that particular area rather than other international schools. The main weakness of this is lack of results. In last few years A/L and O/L results have been low compared to other schools. When talking about threats, there are a lot of competitive international schools situated around Sailan. Such as gateway, ST’Thomes, ST’ Nicholas, Lyceum, Leeds, Negombo south etc. Especially Leaders of Sailan should consider the weaknesses and threats. Leaders of Sailan such as Director of education, principal, and sectional heads need to correct if there is an error in the education system of Sailan. Principal or sectional heads can supervise teaching.Sectional heads can get feedbacks about the teaching of teachers from students. Even teachers can be asked to write lesson plans. Training programs can be provided for teachers. By moni toring teachers and providing training programs quality of teaching can be improved. It will lead to producing good O/L and A/L results. Then weaknesses of Sailan can be avoided. When producing good results Sailan can face threats easily. Even leader of Sailan should be able to exploit strengths and opportunities as well. 3.2 plan for the development of future situations requiring leadership. The leadership plays a major role in achieving competitive advantage in the industry. The leaders usually create strategies to drive employees to attain vision and mission of an organization. (research papers, 2013) As mentioned above Sailan has threats from its rivals. Even when the school develops more teachers will be recruited in the future. Then leadership will be required to control them. Controlling a large number of teachers will not be an easy task. Leaders of Sailan will need more skills to control those teachers. And also recruitment and selection process has to be considered by leaders at Sailan when it develops. Especially Proper recruitment method and recruiting cost is very crucial for Sailan. Some suggestions are mentioned in the following which can use to identify how to plan for the development of future s

Amazon vs. Barnes & Noble Essay

The qualitative services department was hired to provide an in depth analysis of two leaders in their industry, Barnes & Noble and Amazon. The purpose of this report is to provide all the necessary data in an unbiased manner, so that the accounting partners may make their investment decision knowing all the facts and figures about both companies. Our report was developed as a result of conducting independent and group research about each company’s background, competitors, philosophical differences in management, success stories, challenges (past and future), strategic moves, as well as key comparative statistics. Our research was compiled using a variety of online sources. The analysis of these key areas will provide greater understanding as to which company to invest in, Barnes & Noble or Amazon.com. Background Barnes & Noble was founded in 1893 in Wheaton, IL as a printing business but has developed into the largest book retailer in the United States today. Headquartered in New York, Barnes & Noble has 675 stores worldwide and partners with 686 collegiate bookstores. It is traded on the New York Stock Exchange and employs more than 30,000 employees. Barnes & Noble has a significant presence in the United States as a physical retailer of books and magazines. Amazon was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is traded on the NASDAQ, and as a strong historical performer, is a component of the NASDAW 100 and the S&P 500. Amazon was founded initially as an online bookstore but soon into seemingly every segment of consumer goods. Amazon is heavily involved in the Internet as an online retailer and producer of various applications linked to its tablet products. Amazon does a significant amount of business in books, both online and print, but differs from other book retailers in that it is a selling platform for seemingly anything you could think to purchase on the Internet. Competitive Strategy Barnes & Noble has a significant competitive advantage over Amazon and a number of other book retailers in that they have a physical location. While online shopping is a significant competitive force, it is very difficult to beat a physical store. Barnes & Noble goes to great lengths to ensure that their customers are comfortable in their stores, outfitting them with plush couches and chairs. In addition, Barnes & Noble often has cafes in their store locations. The goal is to keep customers in store as long as possible, even if they spend most of the day reading a magazine or a book, to ensure that they are making some kind of purchase. The store locations serve a two-fold purpose; they act as a physical showcase for books that can be purchased online and have environment that fosters community. The college textbook business is a very profitable segment of Barnes & Noble’s business. There is a great degree of markup on college textbooks that is deflected to students, and when students sell books back to colleges, it is at a greatly reduced price. Books repurchased by Barnes & Noble are repackaged and resold for a price greater than cost. Barnes & Noble is set apart from competition in this regard because no other retailer has a similarly structure partnership. The simple model that Amazon operates under is its key to success. Amazon uses little more than a bare bones online platform to sell its products meaning a minimal cost structure. At the same time, this business model requires no asset investment in physical store locations. Through an online platform, Amazon can offer products from a variety of sellers on a global scale, allowing them to mitigate expensive shipping costs. This online platform also means increased transferability to mobile devices, meaning they can offer the same services through application stores and exchanges. Amazon’s Kindle product line is a competitive advantage because it was first to market for handheld book readers. Since releasing the first Kindle, Amazon has only increased the Kindle’s capabilities to match that of the iPad, Nook, and Galaxy tablets. Amazon’s distribution process is a work of art. Amazon has been working very  hard to revolutionize the distribution process, from creating futuristic technology to developing basic processes that would increase efficiency of distribution channels. Currently, Amazon’s distribution channels are almost entirely automated. When a product is ordered, a â€Å"robot† processes the order and searches out the product on the warehouse shelves. The robot packages the product and returns it to the front of the warehouse, while dozens of other machines are operating simultaneously. Amazon’s extensive distribution network is far superior to any other competitors. Vision for the Future It’s clear that both companies understand the importance of e-commerce and accessibility to consumer goods on the online realm. Amazons’ chief business model is Internet commerce, but Barnes & Noble is moving towards this realm of commerce with the creation of the Nook. Both companies see business via handheld tablets becoming more prevalent, evident in the ever-increasing capabilities of the Nook (B&N) and Kindle Fire (Amazon). Barnes & Noble has beefed up their online presence while reducing their number of stores as well. Amazon’s vision of the future has more to do with distribution than anything else. Amazon is doing everything in their power to create a shopping experience similar to going to an actual store; including the instant gratification of receiving your purchased goods right as your purchase them. Amazon is moving towards an incredibly automated distribution channel that will reduce time to consumer through revolutionary technology. One of these te chnologies is drones that will fly purchased goods to a consumer’s home and drops them on the front step. Both companies understand the profit potential of the industry and are taking steps to capitalize on profit opportunities. Company Success Stories Both Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com have experienced great success in their years in business. Barnes & Noble originated in 1873 and opened its first bookstore in New York City in 1917. In the 1970’s they became the first bookstore to advertise on television, as well as the first bookstore to discount New York Times bestsellers at 40% off. From 1992 through 2003, Barnes & Noble released a series of classics for adults and children under the imprint Barnes & Noble Classics Collection. Barnes & Noble stores are also known for their Starbucks cafes, where people often sit and relax with a cup of coffee or a snack. Undoubtedly, Barnes & Noble’s greatest success comes from the NOOK, their electronic book reader, introduced in November 2009. The NOOK’s biggest competition for the tablet market comes from the Amazon Kindle Fire, and Apple’s iBooks for iPhone, iPad and iTouch. Although only in business 17 years, Amazon.com has experienced great success and is now the world’s largest retailer. Amazon has separate retail websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Japan, and China, with international shipping to certain other countries for some of its products. Amazon.com sells a variety of retail goods online including books, jewelry, baby items, tools, software, toys, and is a huge third party reseller. Amazon Prime membership is very popular and for an annual fee, a user can join, which entitles them to free two-day shipping on eligible purchases. Amazon Prime also provides Amazon Instant Video and access to the Kindle Owner’s Lending Library. Amazon’s greatest success to date is the introduction of its e-reader, Kindle, in November 2007 and the Kindle Fire in September 2011. Since 2007, Amazon has released multiple versions of the Kindle e-reader and two versions of the Kindle Fire. Its biggest competitors in the tablet market are the Barnes & Noble NOOK and the Apple iPad being used in conjunction with the Kindle app. Past Challenges The challenges that these two companies have faced, and continue to face, are the digital landscape and competition. Barnes & Noble became the last hope for bookstores after the collapse of Borders. Barnes & Noble is now the last major bookstore chain standing. The company is in constant competition with e-commerce sites, e-readers and tablets. It is safe to say that Barnes & Noble’s primary competitor is Amazon. Barnes & Noble began to utilize their website, offering more titles and including free shipping for members. After Amazon launched its tablet, the Kindle, Barnes & Noble was forced to step up in the digital landscape. It created the NOOK and the NOOK Bookstore. Several generations later, the NOOK has come a long way in its  evolution. Now it has become a tablet with color, a built in light, Internet searching and application capabilities. Its newest tablet comes in high definition. While the NOOK looks more appealing than it did in previous years, one thing stands i n its way of success, which is price. Amazon’s Kindle, is priced anywhere from $69-$100 cheaper than the NOOK. This is not to say Amazon doesn’t have its challenges either. Amazon has made a name for itself globally, however it still has competition with other e-commerce sites like e-Bay. EBay allows individual sellers to auction essentially anything they want for a fee. Amazon has limitations on what individual sellers can sell due to competition with other retailer partnerships with Amazon. However, according to a recent Forrester report, 30 percent of all online shoppers start at Amazon to research products as opposed to Google or eBay (Savitz, 2012). Another competitor Amazon faces is Apple. The highly coveted Apple iPad is in fierce competition with Amazon’s Kindle. While the iPad is more expensive than the Kindle, Apple fans might point out that the iPad has far more tablet-optimized apps, options for 4GLTE connectivity, and is the thinner and lighter device of the two. However, Amazon’s Kindle is a cheaper alternative for those who cannot afford an iPad or even the NOOK. Future challenges Any company trying to survive in today’s economy will undoubtedly face challenges. The key to success lays in predicting these challenges and implementing strategies to overcome them. The places where Amazon finds opportunity seem to be the same places where Barnes & Noble faces challenges. Firstly, Amazon continues to make it very attractive for authors to self-publish their titles with their publishing services including, the Kindle Direct Publishing option for online books, and the CreateSpace option for print books. Barnes & Noble does offer its own self-publishing service, PubIt, but its services are only offered for e-books, not print. In fact, 28% of the top-selling titles on Kindle are not even available on the NOOK (McIlroy, 2012). If Barnes & Noble wants to compete it will have to expand  its self-publishing services and offer better incentives to authors. Another challenge that Barnes & Noble faces is its lack of an international presence. The fact that Amazon operates in so many countries worldwide is a serious challenge for Barnes & Noble. The Kindle is available internationally, but the NOOK is not. The NOOK is one of Barnes & Noble’s most successful products. Therefore, it would seem logical to expand the number of locations where this product can be purchased. However, it still remains unclear as to when and if Barnes & Noble plans to expand to international markets. One challenge that Amazon could face may be the law. Since it allows an unlimited number of people to sell on the site, from all over the world, it is difficult to monitor every single product that is sold under the Amazon.com brand. In order to prevent future lawsuits it is crucial that Amazon.com employs a highly skilled legal team, and closely monitors its sellers and their products. Recommendation We have found that Barnes & Noble and Amazon may appear to rivals but this appearance is only visible on the surface. With further examination of the facts, it is evident that one company is far more successful than the other. We have concluded that Amazon.com is that company. These are the main factors that have contributed to our conclusions: †¢Amazon has more appealing future growth with the implementation of drone shipping. †¢Amazon’s success of the Kindle compared to Barnes & Noble’s NOOK. †¢Amazon sells internationally. Barnes & Noble only operates in the US. †¢Amazon allows an unlimited number of sellers to do business on its site. Barnes & Noble restricts its number of sellers to 200. †¢Amazon.com is more attractive and rewarding for self-publishing which is set to play a leading role in the future of industry. †¢Amazon has the capital to sell its products cheaper than Barnes & Noble. Therefore, with the evidence provided in this re port, we have determined that the most secure investment opportunity of these two companies is Amazon.com. Based on current performance, and the opportunities for future success that were outlined in this report, it is now clear that Barnes & Noble simply cannot compete with Amazon.com’s current success and future potential. Works Cited Amazon.com. (2011, October). Retrieved from http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=176060&p=irol-mediaKit Barnes and noble booksellers. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.barnesandnobleinc.com/for_investors/for_investors.html barnesandnobleinc.com . (2012). Retrieved from http://www.barnesandnobleinc.com/our_company/our_company.html McIlroy, Thad, (2012), Four Disadvantages for Barnes & Noble in the Bookseller Wars Retrieved from http://www.digitalbookworld.com/2012/four-disadvantages-for-barnes-noble-in-the-bookseller-wars/ Savitz, Eric. (2012, October 29). Amazon’s Hidden Weak Spot: Lack Of Local Leverage. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/ciocentral/2012/10/29/amazons-hidden-weak-spot-lack-of-local-leverage

Hospitality Technology Applied to Hospitals Essay

Hospitality Technology Applied to Hospitals - Essay Example To this end, the hospitality industry, including the airlines and the hotels, are in a constant struggle to introduce new ways to achieve the mentioned goal. This paper purports to discuss some of the new advancements in technology that the airlines have incorporated worldwide to provide for an improved customer experience through improved hospitality and operational management. The airlines have, of late, put an end to paper tickets by encouraging their customers to book tickets online and by checking their bookings through online softwares and databases (3 Big Tech Changes). The latest advancement in this category is an attempt to replace the boarding passes with electronic system of bar codes, so that passenger check-ins can be expedited, and there is less traffic at the airport terminals (3 Big Tech Changes). For this purpose, the major airlines all over the world have started the practice of recording the passenger’s cell phone numbers when they make reservations (3 Big Tech Changes). The airlines then send a bar code to the cell phones via text message, and also to the email address (3 Big Tech Changes). The customers have the option of either printing the emails, or brining their cell phones with them when boarding the planes. The company then checks the bar codes that the passengers have on their cell phones or email print outs(3 Big Tech Cha nges), which therefore, serve as the boarding passes. On 15 January, 2003, Saudi Arabian Airlines opened their first ever option of online booking to the public (MacAllister). This is a major step in the advancement of a key international as well as Middle Eastern flight company, falling currently at number fifteen on the list of the International Air

Modern Utilitarianism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Modern Utilitarianism - Essay Example The answers she created enemies and friends for her and answers that saved the birds. Carson gave the cause of the decrease in the number of birds as the strong synthetic insecticides. These insecticides, like dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), in the form of dusts, sprays, and aerosols were affecting the food chains. The insecticides achieved this by poisoning the food chain from insects to the top. The chemicals were not only harmful to the insects but to the humans as well. They caused cancer and liver tumors. This led to the banning of the DDT insecticides and consequently saving a huge number of birds. However, the companies that were producing the insecticides underwent loss hence viewing Carson as a foe (Minteer 169). Her encouragement and message that man needs to act in moderation for him to achieve an equilibrium with nature led to a number of legislations by the federal on utilitarian conservation of the environment. One of these acts legislations was the clean air act . This act, which has undergone a number of amendments, required the Environmental Protection agency to make and enforce laws that protect humans from airborne chemicals and contaminants that are dangerous to human health (Minteer 169). The Wilderness Act passed in 1964 created a legal description of the wilderness in the US. It protected around nine million acres of federal land. This act preserved the wilderness and hence the animals in it. The Clean Water Act was passed in the year 1972. This acts main aim was to protect the waters of the land from pollution by doing away with the release of large amounts of poisonous substances into the water. This act not only... As the report stresses  the only person who had the exact answer to the question that no one was sure about the answer was Rachel Carson. This biologist had taken time to complete the book that would provide answers to the question of the decreasing number of birds. The answers she created enemies and friends for her and answers that saved the birds. Carson gave the cause of the decrease in the number of birds as the strong synthetic insecticides. These insecticides, like dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), in the form of dusts, sprays, and aerosols were affecting the food chains. The insecticides achieved this by poisoning the food chain from insects to the top. The chemicals were not only harmful to the insects but to the humans as well. They caused cancer and liver tumors. This led to the banning of the DDT insecticides and consequently saving a huge number of birds. However, the companies that were producing the insecticides underwent loss hence viewing Carson as a foe.From the discussion it is clear that  the Wilderness Act passed in 1964 created a legal description of the wilderness in the US. It protected around nine million acres of federal land. This act preserved the wilderness and hence the animals in it. The Clean Water Act was passed in the year 1972. This acts main aim was to protect the waters of the land from pollution by doing away with the release of large amounts of poisonous substances into the water. This act not only made safe the water that human beings consumed but also the fish they ate.

ITM501 MoD 2 Case Assign Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

ITM501 MoD 2 Case Assign - Essay Example Thus they opted for a pilot program via the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) which demonstrated 32 quality based parameters and the firm applied SAP Business Objects solutions to keep an eye on those parameters to improve the level of performance (Konitzer & Cummens, 2011). Next come the case of Exclusive Resorts, LLC which is the world’s biggest luxury destination resort with over 350 Sophisticated and discerning private dwellings around the globe. The resort serves almost a number of 3300 members and enjoys a continuous entry of new members. The company runs on a large scale with quality services and positive member responses. It also operates on the domain of managing and developing real estate projects and hence requires complicated financial management system and reporting approach throughout its worldwide branches where the properties are located. During the early days of the firm’s operations, the company preferred the implementation of Oracle software as its enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution. However with increasing growth and development, the company found the software to be unmanageable and complex for its multifaceted business needs. The firm decided to search for a further ERP solution which would be able to incorporate with the technologies easily and would assist the firm to improve its quality of services as well as its competitiveness paving the path for membership growth (Microsoft Inc., 2011). Thus we can learn from both the cases that in the recent days, technologies are becoming more upgraded while the business operations are getting more complex. Therefore a constant change is noticeable within the functioning of these firms which strives for excellent business services so that they can efficiently serve their customers. Therefore need for business intelligence to face the competitive environment and effectively cut the cost has become a significant part of every business. Business Intelligence can be defined as the tools, technologies and processes require for converting data into information, information into knowledge and knowledge into plans that drive profitable business action (Loshin, 2012, p.7). Conclusions drawn Business intelligence is the process of gathering large quantity of data, assessing the data and offering a high end report set that compress the fundamental nature of the data into the foundation of the business activities, making the management able to make basic decisions related to the business. It is the approach of getting the right access to the right information for making the right decision at the right time. (Stackowiak et al., 2007, p.3). It is the capacity of the business to extract performance based knowledge from the organization and market to support an improved decision making process as well as to excel their performance (Electro smart Ltd., 2011). The business intelligence system can be achieved with the implementation of various idea proces sing systems. Idea processing systems are regarded to be associated with the decision support system (Thierauf, 2001, p.95). In this context it is significant to discuss the importance of a decision support system. DSS is one of the significant technology solutions to the business sector which offers them a means of converting a rich source of

Philosophy of Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Philosophy of Education - Essay Example Understanding students allow the teacher to know their capability and inability that will enable him address their needs effective. The definition that best fits education is Plato’s perspective. Plato views education as process of getting the prisoner out of the cave and empowering his with the skill that will enable him go for fellow prisoner left in the cave. This view illustrates the concept in all aspect prove what it should refill in an individual and the importance of the transformed individual to the society and the country at large. Eric’s comparison off education with value also draws my attention (John, 1693). According to him, education like value and irreproachable character cannot be realized by punishing or reward because when the reward will not be promised the student will not perform. This paper covers my theory of education, pedagogy, social and political component of education. After going through such elaborate and detailed experience in Plato’s parable and other issues, Aristotle’s Virtue Ethics and philosopher’s release, I now believe education is beyond the dictionary definition I knew. I view a student as volcano with the capability of erupt but lacking a trigger to induce the eruption. In my understanding, I consider education to as a trigger that can induce this objective. Every individual has the dream to attain; however, their potential may not be realized if the individual lacks the right information and if the imparting techniques employed in delivering this information right. I fully agree with Plato’s view of education. His description of education in his article Line and cave captures all the whole process of education in accurate and visual way than could be met by any definition. His view of education as getting a prisoner out of the cave prison, and empowering him with the right information, which will enable hi m go back and lift other prisoner effectively cover

The Church Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Church - Essay Example St Peter and St Paul were perhaps the two most important influences on the Early Church after Jesus himself and on a par with Jesus’ brother James. The Early Church seemed to face major challenges as the Apostles died out. Despite these challenges the Early Churches would go on developing and would eventually allow Christianity to become the sole official religion of the Roman Empire some three centuries later, the same Roman Empire that had tried so hard to eliminate the Early Churches. Evidence about the Early Church was recorded not only in the New Testament especially the letters of St Paul, the letters of James, St Matthew’s gospel and the Book of Acts it was recorded by non-Christians within the Roman Empire. The writing of the four gospels of the New Testament was given greater urgency by the fact that the Apostles and those who had actually witnessed Jesus for themselves were dying through old age and persecution. Raymond Brown wrote The Church the Apostles Left Behind for various reasons. One reason was to examine and explain how the Early Church not only survived the death of the Apostles yet also how it would eventually prosper in the face of persecution and hostility. Brown concentrated on studying and writing about the seven main Early Churches such as those of the Corinthians and Rome. To be a Christian in the 1st century AD not only put people into a tiny minority it also put them at great personal risk, Jesus, St Peter and St Paul had all been executed and would be followed by many ordinary Christians. The strength of faith and bravery of many members of the Early Church had to be admired. The Early Church seemed to well endowed with the Holy Spirit and strong sense of its own convictions. All good Christians should after all be prepared to stand and fight for what they believe to be right. Brown also explored how the Early Churches started to organise themselves in terms of developin g the roles of the ministry and the laity

Families Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Families - Essay Example Therefore, while defining the term â€Å"family†, it is important to mention that a group of individuals make a family irrespective of whether they love one another or not since they are blood-related to one another and are biologically family members. Often, family members assume financial obligations towards one another religiously if not legally. On the other hand, new concepts of family are emerging with the changing moods of the dynamic modern world, where homosexuality has been legally accepted in certain countries. But such concepts are man-made. It is highly unethical to consider such union of people as a family. In today’s society, the definition of â€Å"family† I gave might not be quite welcomed and many people might find it offensive. Typically, the gays and lesbians would find it an offense of their fundamental beliefs. Today’s modern society has given equal rights to homosexuals and straight people. This gives the homosexuals leverage to choose to live with the person they like irrespective of his/her gender. Homosexuals tend to make a family. But they certainly can not make babies in the natural biological way. This speaks of the nature’s definition of a family. Nature certainly does not consider them a family and accordingly does not bless them with children. That is why, homosexuals living together tend to develop themselves as a family by adopting children. This is highly unethical because it does not only ruin the fundamental structure of a family, but also inculcates many negative aspects in the personality of the adopted children. On the other hand, m any thoughtful people will consider this definition of family quite rational since it covers all major aspects of relationship between individuals forming a family. According to my definition of a family, individuals caught in a legal case should find help from their family members. Help comes in the form of financial support and psychological

Financial Investment Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Financial Investment - Research Paper Example The principles of time value of money and learning its techniques are the most important concepts for the study and application of finance in general. The concept of interest is divided between simple and compound interest. Simple interest is calculated only by taking into consideration the beginning principal. For instance, if an individual invested $1,000 dollars in a savings account at 5% annual interest, the expected return after one year would amount to a $50 gain on investment. The concept of compound interest unlike simple interest which only takes into consideration the interest return of the initial principal investment is determined by taking into consideration not only total interest on the principal, but it also includes any interest gained on the initial investment. In simple terms, compound interest calculations encompass interest on interest. It is of paramount importance for a finance manager to understand and have a through understanding of time value of money concep ts and its impact on the value of an asset at a specific point of time in order to be successful. Present and Future Value of an Investment For a company one of the most important tools in determination in the time value of money analysis for a specific asset is the cash flows time line. The cash flows time line indicates and helps us visualize when the cash flows related to a particular transaction occur in respect to when the transaction originated. Constructing a cash flow time line will help determine how the timing of cash inputs and outputs will affect the day to day operations of the firm. By utilizing the cash flows time line a person can determine the potential future value of an investment today and how the process of compounding interest on the initial investment affects the total value of the initial investment and its aggregate return on the simple interest. In order to calculate the effect of compound interest in an investment a person needs to use the compound interes t formula (Studyfinance). TV = P1 (1+I)^n TV= total value investment value at the end of n periods P1= initial investment I= interest N= number of periods or years Finance textbooks provide the user with future and present compound interest tables. These tables are calculated in order to simplify the process and provide a guideline to the user with help in determining present and future value of any investment. The tables provided are calculated by determining the value of an initial investment for various time periods and interest rates. The opportunity value of an investment is the rate of return on the best investment alternative taking into consideration the available options of equal risk. On the other side of the coin, the compounded present value of an initial investment is calculated by determining the reciprocal amount of compound interest for the same future period (Studyfinance). Another way of visualizing present value of an investment is to adopt a stance where the init ial investment value is determined by the interest rate and time period of the future investment window. For investors present value calculations determine where individuals invest their limited funds taking into consideration their actual financial performance and risks and overall return. For potential investors present

System Analysis and Design of an Equipment Tracking Database Essay Example for Free

System Analysis and Design of an Equipment Tracking Database Essay BG Group has been active in the energy sector in Trinidad Tobago since 1989 and established an office in the country in 1994. Currently the company’s office is located at 5 St. Clair Avenue, St. Clair, Port-of-Spain. Today, BG Trinidad and Tobago (BG TT) is one of the Group’s core operational areas and is virtually unique among the multinationals based here, in operating onshore and offshore assets in all key areas of the country. The UK-based BG Group is a global leader in the exploration, production, distribution and supply of natural gas to industrial markets. The Group has operations in over 25 countries, including the UK, Egypt, Kazakhstan and India. The Group’s key business is the connecting of high value markets to competitively priced gas, to which it deploys expertise at all stages of the gas chain. BG TT has upstream operations in three main areas – the offshore East Coast Marine Area (ECMA) and North Coast Marine Area (NCMA), as well as the onshore Central Block located in the Moruga forest. The BG Group-operated ECMA or Dolphin gas field, located 83 km off the east coast of Trinidad, commenced production in March 1996. The Dolphin field is contracted to supply gas to NGC under a 20 year supply contract. The ECMA also supplies Atlantic Train 3 and Atlantic Train 4. NCMA comprises three producing fields, Hibiscus, Chaconia and Ixora, which supply natural gas for Atlantic LNG Trains 2, 3 and 4. A 107 km, 24-inch pipeline from the NCMA development to Point Fortin is the longest pipeline in Trinidad Tobago. A fourth producing field, Poinsettia, is scheduled for development in 2008. BG TT acquired Aventura’s 65% interest in, and operatorship of, the onshore Central Block in 2004. Central Block is conveniently located near the Cross Island Pipeline in Moruga, which makes it an attractive proposition for the supply of natural gas to Atlantic LNG. On acquiring the Block, they also took on an existing domestic gas supply agreement with the Petroleum Company of Trinidad Tobago Limited (Petrotrin). The transportation of this natural gas to the NGC network constitutes BG TT’s first sales of liquids in the country. 1. Problem Description: This project will provide guidelines for implementing an asset tracking solution at BG TT’s IM (Information Management) department. The system is needed to assist the Helpdesk Administrator to keep track of a large variety of physical computer equipment as they are bought, stored and assigned to the company’s employees. Currently there is a manual system that entails the use of a notebook to record and track the assignment of computer and computer related equipment. Inventory levels are checked periodically and recorded using the manual paper system. The most common method for tracking assets is to record transactions as they happen. As a result inventories are time consuming and almost impossible to maintain accuracy since assets move around on a daily basis. Also the data collected during any inventory is outdated before the finished reports are published. An asset tracking system needs to be able to produce reports that will help the organization make intelligent business decisions. The department wanted to streamline its equipment checkout process. The objective is to computerize the current manual process in order to make the equipment checkout processes fast and accurate. The computerization of this process will simplify paperwork and provide electronic storage of data. Because of the amount of equipment to be checked out every day and the number of members involved, the workload for staff members in the department increases every year. The operating cost includes the maintenance cost of the equipment and their inventory. Some of the problems faced by the staff members are listed below: †¢ Each piece of equipment is individually marked for identification purposes; however, there isn’t a method to allow a user to backtrack or check into certain equipment in terms of its usability and for maintenance purposes. This often leaves the user with an uncertainty on how good the equipment is in a given. Lack of information on the status and maintenance of equipment leads to bad quality of equipment because of unperformed maintenance. This, in turn, may cause customer dissatisfaction when poorly conditioned equipment is being given out. †¢ Manually completing forms creates another issue due to hand-writing. That is, more than one person will be handling the forms and each person has a different style of hand-writing. This leads to misunderstanding of the information on the forms, especially when maintenance requests are entered by one staff member and not understood properly by another staff member. †¢ Forms could be easily misplaced, thus resulting in missing documents. Human errors on checking forms for completeness could result in incomplete form. †¢ The equipment check-in and checkout processes are difficult and involves extensive labor to get the work done right. Currently, a staff member is required to manually check each equipment that is being checked out for the day and make sure things are getting checked in correctly. On top of that, the staff member is required to tally up all equipment before closing of the business on that day to make certain that all equipment are in place; otherwise, they may have equipment shortages and may have to reorder. 2. Proposed Solution: The aim of this project is to develop the inventory system that can be applied in the current IM Department. The objectives are: †¢ to identify the problems involved in the implementation of the current inventory system; †¢ to identify the needs of a systematic inventory system; †¢ To develop the prototype of the inventory system that can be implemented. The eventual inventory system will be a DBMS that will control the organization, storage, management, and retrieval of data in a database. The DBMS will accept requests for data from the application program and instructs the operating system to transfer the appropriate data. When a DBMS is used, information systems can be changed much more easily as the organizations information requirements change. New categories of data can be added to the database without disruption to the existing system. The proposed DMS will have the following basic features: †¢ Provides a way to structure data as records, tables, or objects †¢ Accepts data input from operators and stores that data for later retrieval †¢ Provides query languages for searching, sorting, reporting, and other decision support activities that help users correlate and make sense of collected data A Database Management System (DBMS) is a software system that enables users to define, create, and maintain the database and provide controlled access to this database. The DBMS is the software that interacts with the users’ application programs and the database. Typically, a DBMS provides the following facilities: †¢ It allows users to insert, update, delete and retrieve data from the database usually through a Data Manipulation Language (DML). Having a central repository for all data and descriptions allows the DML to provide general enquiry facility to this data, called a query language. The provision of a query language alleviates the problems with file-based systems where the user has to work with a fixed set of queries or there is a proliferation programs, giving major software management problems. †¢ It provides controlled access to the database. For example, it may provide: ? An integrity system, which maintains the consistency of stored data; ? A user-accessible catalog, which contains description of the data in the database. The proposed solution takes care of the CRUD features of the database software namely the following: a. Create the storage structures – It implies that the storage structures can be created and modified for the change in the database or the information system.

Types Of Grants And Scholarships Essay Example for Free

Types Of Grants And Scholarships Essay The Pell Grant Program basically provides need-based grants to students belonging to low-income families.   This grant is primarily for undergraduate and certain postgraduate students who do not have adequate finances and access to graduate degree programs.   The current institutions that participate in this program approximate nearly 5,400.   The grants generally cover expenses such as allowances and basic education costs. The grant amount is determined by a number of factors such as the contribution from the family (EFC), the cost of basic education, whether the student is full-time or part-time and the entire attendance during the school year.    An eligible student may not receive more than one Pell Grant from more than a single academic institution at a time.   According to the FSA handbook, direct grants may be awarded with the aid of participating schools to students who fit the financial need qualifications and who have not received their bachelor’s degrees. The Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG) is a relatively new program that was granted during the 2006-2007 academic year.   The main purpose of this grant is to encourage students in the United States to enroll in more challenging high school courses and also to eventually pursue college degrees.   This grant is awarded to students who are first-year undergraduate students who were able to graduate from high-school in 2006, and to second-year students who graduated in January 1, 2005 from their high school. This can be awarded to a student over and above the Pell grant award that a deserving student receives.   There is currently over US $4.5 billion that has been earmarked for this program over the next five (5) years and this will continue on until the 2010-2011 academic calendars.   In order to be qualified to receive this grant, applicants must be full-time students (unlike the Pell Grant) and must be United States citizens. Works Cited: ACG Grant Information from http://www.acggrant.com/ last accessed on March 20, 2008 Federal Pell Grant Program from http://www.ed.gov/programs/fpg/index.html last accessed on March 20, 2008

High Fracture Toughness of Al2O3-TiN0.3 Composites

High Fracture Toughness of Al2O3-TiN0.3 Composites High fracture toughness of Al2O3-TiN0.3 composites prepared via spark plasma sintering Lina Qiaoa, b, Yucheng Zhaoa, Mingzhi Wanga, à ¯Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ ºÃƒ ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ªÃƒ ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ , Yana Yea, Junxing Zhanga, Qin Zoua, Qian Yanga, Hua Dengc, Ying Xingc Abstract Al2O3–TiN0.3 composites with different TiN0.3 contents were spark plasma sintered at 1300–1600  °C for 10 min. Phase identification was characterized through X-ray diffraction. Microstructures were observed using a scanning electron microscope. The fracture toughness of the composite with 30 vol% TiN0.3 sintered at 1500  °C reaches to the highest value of 6.91 MPa m1/2. Based on the first-principles density functional theory, the density of states for TiN and TiNx was calculated. The covalent bonding is weakened and the metallic bonding is strengthened as the nitrogen concentration is reduced in nonstoichiometric TiNx. The active slip systems determined by covalent bonding for the nitrides are possibly increased by adding nonstoichiometric TiN0.3, which improves the fracture toughness of Al2O3-based composites. Keywords: Al2O3–TiN0.3 composites;Fracture toughness; Slip system; Bond calculation 1. Introduction Alumina (Al2O3) ceramics are essential structural materials, but the inherent brittleness has inhibited their applications [1, 2]. The fracture toughness can be improved substantially by adding a secondary reinforcing phase into the matrix. The effects of TiN particles on the mechanical properties of Al2O3-based composites have been widely studied [3–9]. Shen et al. [9] reported that the fracture toughness of Al2O3–TiN composites prepared via spark plasma sintering (SPS) at 1500  °C reaches to a maximum value of 5.7 MPa m1/2. Li et al. [1] studied the mechanical properties of TiN–Al2O3 nanocomposites prepared by hot pressing at 1550  °C, and pointed out that the highest fracture toughness is 5.27 MPa m1/2. However, there have been few reports about the effects of nonstoichiometric TiN0.3 on the fracture toughness of Al2O3-based composites. In this study, nonstoichiometricTiN0.3 was added into Al2O3 matrix, and the effects of TiN0.3 on the mechanical properties (especially fracture toughness) of the composites were discussed. Nonstoichiometric TiN0.3 synthesized via mechanical alloying (MA) possesses fine grain size and TiN-type structure with numerous N vacancies [10, 11], which are conducive to improving sinterability [11–14]. Furthermore, weakening covalent bond and strengthening metallic bond in TiN0.3 structure [15, 16] may have an important influence on the fracture toughness. This study aims to verify whether or not adding nonstoichiometric materials can increase the fracture toughness of Al2O3-based composites. 2. Experimental Raw materials used include TiN0.3 synthesized through MA [10, 11] and commercial powders Al2O3 (analytically pure, an average particle size of 1 ÃŽ ¼m). Powder mixtures were milled for 2 h in absolute ethanol using WC milling media on a Pulverisette 4 Vario-Planetary Mill (FRTSCH German) at 300 rpm. SPS (3.20 MK-IV, Sumitomo Coal Mining Co., Ltd.) was performed in vacuum (6Ãâ€"10−3 Pa) at different heat treatment temperatures (1300–1600  °C) for 10min at 30 MPa. The heating rate was 100  °C/min. The temperature was determined using an optical pyrometer focused on the non-through hole located on the surface of the graphite die. Phase identification was performed through X-ray diffraction (XRD) with Cu KÃŽ ± radiation by using a D/MAX-2500PC diffractometer (Rigaku). Microstructures of the specimen’s polished surface and fracture cross-sections were observed using an S-3400N (Hitachis) scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with electron back-scattered diffraction (Edax-Tsl, Ametek). The bending strength was measured with Instron-5848 MicroTester (America) using the three point bending test with a span length of 13 mm and crosshead speed of 0.5 mm/min. Fracture toughness was determined through the Vickers indentation method proposed by Anstis et. al [17]. Measurements of the hardness and fracture toughness were conducted using an FM-700 Vickers hardness tester (Future-Tech, Japan) by indentation using a pyramidal indenter and applying a 10 kg load for 10 s. 3. Results 3.1 XRD identification and morphology observation Fig. 1 shows the XRD patterns of Al2O3–30 vol% TiN0.3 composite sintered via SPS at different temperatures in vacuum (6Ãâ€"103 Pa) for 10 min. Only TiN0.3 and ÃŽ ±-Al2O3 phases are detected in the XRD patterns. It suggests that no chemical reaction occurs between the second phase and the matrix. Fig. 2 shows the back-scattered SEM micrograph of the polished surface of Al2O3–30 vol% TiN0.3 composite sintered via SPS at 1400  °C in vacuum (6Ãâ€"103 Pa) for 10 min. The gray grains are Al2O3, while the white ones are TiN0.3. TiN0.3 grains are uniformly dispersed in Al2O3 matrix. Fig. 3 shows the microstructure of the fracture cross-sections of Al2O3–30 vol% TiN0.3 composite sintered via SPS at different temperatures in vacuum (6Ãâ€"103 Pa) for 10 min. When the sintering temperature is raised to 1400  °C, the grain size of the composite is fine and approximately 2 ÃŽ ¼m for Al2O3; the fracture mode is mainly intergranular (Fig. 3 b). Then the gains grew obviously with further raising the sintering temperature, here ~3-4 ÃŽ ¼m at 1500  °C and ~4-5 ÃŽ ¼m at 1600  °C for Al2O3; the fracture modes are intergranular and transgranular (Fig. 3 c and d). In addition, Al2O3–30 vol% TiN0.3 composite has not reached full density at 1300  °C, as indicated both by the SEM observations (Fig. 3) and measured hardness values (Fig. 5). Fig. 4 shows the microstructure of the fracture cross-sections of Al2O3–TiN0.3 composites with different TiN0.3 contents sintered via SPS at 1400  °C in vacuum (6Ãâ€"103 Pa) for 10 min. The grain size of Al2O3 existed in all samples does not change significantly. It is not agreement with the previous study that the addition of TiN effectively inhibits the grain growth of Al2O3 [9]. This phenomenon may be attributed to the fact that Al2O3–TiN0.3 composites have good sinterability. In addition, the fracture morphology is influenced by TiN0.3 content in these samples. The fracture mode of Al2O3–TiN0.3 composites with TiN0.3 contents from 10 vol% to 30 vol% (Fig. 4 a–c) is mainly intergranular. But, the fracture modes of Al2O3–TiN0.3 composite with 40 vol% TiN0.3 (Fig. 4 d) are intergranular and transgranular. The explanation for the fracture mode change is that the grain boundaries in Al2O3–TiN0.3 composites are strengthened, inhibiting inter granular crack propagation. 3.2 Mechanical properties Fig. 5 a shows the Vickers hardness of Al2O3–30 vol% TiN0.3 composite sintered at different temperatures. The Vickers hardness of Al2O3–30 vol% TiN0.3 composite sintered at 1400  °C reaches to the highest value of 18.75 GPa, then slightly reduces with raising the sintering temperature, which is due to grain growth [9, 18, 19] (Fig. 3 b-d). Fig. 5 b shows the Vickers hardness of Al2O3–TiN0.3 composites sintered at 1400  °C versus TiN0.3 content. The Vickers hardness of Al2O3–TiN0.3 composites with different TiN0.3 contents from 10 vol% to 40 vol% reaches to a range of 17–19 GPa, which is no significant difference from that of pure Al2O3 and close to that of Al2O3–TiN nanocomposites [1]. Fig. 6 shows the bending strength of Al2O3–TiN0.3 composites sintered at 1400  °C versus TiN0.3 content. The bending strength of Al2O3–TiN0.3 composites sintered at 1400  °C increases with increasing TiN0.3 contents from 10 vol% to 40 vol%, and is higher than that of Al2O3 ceramics. As adding TiN0.3 into Al2O3 matrix, the microstructure is improved and the grain boundaries are strengthened, which lead to an increase in the bending strength of Al2O3–TiN0.3 composites. The fracture toughness of the composite with 30 vol% TiN0.3 sintered at 1500  °C reaches to the highest value of 6.91 MPa m1/2, as shown in Fig. 5 a, which is much higher than that of nano- or micron-sized Al2O3–TiN composites [1, 4, 5, 9, 20]. And the fracture toughness of the composites sintered at 1400  °C increases with the addition of TiN0.3, and presents a maximum value of 6.60 MPa m1/2 at 30 vol% TiN0.3, then decreases with further increasing the amount of TiN0.3, as shown in Fig. 5 b. These results are in agreement with previous studies [1, 4, 5, 9, 20]. For particulate reinforced composites, many toughening mechanisms such as crack pinning, microcrack toughening, crack deflection, residual stress toughening and crack bridging have been proposed. For TiN–Al2O3 composites, Li et al. [1] reported that possible toughening mechanisms are crack deflections and/ or crack pinning; Shen et al. [9] pointed out that the predominating toughening mechanism is related to crack tilting and twisting caused by thermal expansion and/ or elastic modulus mismatch stresses. It is difficult to indicate a prevailing toughening mechanism. In this research, maybe some of these toughening mechanisms are active at the same time. Nonetheless, due to structure defect, TiN0.3 may have an important influence on the fracture toughness. It will be discussed subsequently in more detail. 4. Discussion The above experimental results suggest that adding a nonstoichiometric TiN0.3 phase is more effective for improving the fracture toughness of Al2O3-based composites. To explain the phenomenon, based on the first-principles density functional theory [15, 16, 21], the density of states (DOS) for TiN and TiNx was calculated, as shown in Fig 7. Close to the Fermi level, the DOS for TiN consists of hybridized Ti-3d and N-2p states, as shown in Fig. 7. It can be seen that the DOS for TiN at the Fermi level is not at the minimum and mainly dominated by Ti-3d states. This is an evidence that the cohesion in TiN is a complex mixture of covalent, ionic (a little) and metallic types. The new structures in the DOS for TiNx near the Fermi level can clearly be seen in Fig. 7, which are called ‘vacancy state associated structures’ [15, 16]. It can be explained by symmetry changes resulting from the vacancy sites in the lattice. Titanium atoms are completely equivalent in a perfect stoichiometric rocksalt structure. But, in a nonstoichiometric structure, both Ti neighboring levels of symmetry interact together through a vacancy (symbolized by à ¢- ¡) to establish a Ti–à ¢- ¡Ã¢â‚¬â€œTi bond which is absent in the stoichiometric titanium compound. In other words, the covalent bonding is weakened and the metallic bonding is strengthened as the nitrogen concentration is reduced in nonstoichiometric TiNx, which are indicated by the peaks observed near the Fermi level on the DOS curves in Fig. 7 and in accordance with Refs. [15, 16]. Al2O3 is a kind of brittle material due to the lack of active slip system essentially. The active slip systems determined by covalent bonding for the nitrides can be increased by adding a nonstoichiometric material. Rowcliffe et al. [22] had reported that TiC has the {111} 0> slip system at high temperature and the {110} 0> slip system at room temperature. The root cause of the change of the slip systems is that the cohesion in TiC is a complex mixture of covalent, ionic (a little) and metallic types. At low temperature, the bonding is covalent with strong, directional bonding between neighboring carbon and metal atoms; as the temperature is raised, electrons are transferred from these bonds into less localized metallic states. Such a transfer has the effect of reducing both the directionality and strength of the bonds. They also pointed out that the covalent contribution to bonding becomes less as the carbon concentration in nonstoichiometric TiCx decreases [20]. TiC and TiN crystals belong to the same space group (FM-3M, cubic system) and the atomic radii of C and N are closed. It is inferred that TiN (or TiNx) has the similar slip system. Same as previous analysis, the nitrogen concentration in TiN0.3 is very low, which leads to weakening covalent bond and strengthening metallic bond. Maybe the {111} 0> slip system, or some of it, is active at room temperature. In other words, there may be more active slip systems at room temperature in Al2O3–TiN0.3 composites. This is a major reason for the improvement of the fracture toughness of Al2O3–TiN0.3 composites. 4. Conclusions This paper introduces a new and effective method to improve the fracture toughness of Al2O3-based composites by adding a nonstoichiometric material. Al2O3–TiN0.3 composites were prepared via SPS at a relatively low temperature. The fracture toughness and bending strength of the composites have been greatly improved and the hardness is almost identical to that of Al2O3 matrix. Based on the first-principles density functional theory, the DOS for TiN and TiNx was calculated. The covalent bonding is weakened and the metallic bonding is strengthened as the nitrogen concentration is reduced in nonstoichiometric TiNx. The active slip systems determined by covalent bonding for the nitrides are possibly increased by adding nonstoichiometric TiN0.3, which improves the fracture toughness of Al2O3-based composites. Acknowledgments The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from Key Laboratory of Metastable Materials Science and Technology, the Science and Technology Foundation of Hebei (E2012203116), the Key Item of Education Department of Hebei (ZH2012003), Synergy Innovation Plan Project of College of Mechanical Engineering (JX2014-3), and Heavy Machinery Synergy Innovation Plan Project (ZX01-20140100-01). References [1] Jingguo Li, Lian Gao, Jingkun Guo. Mechanical properties and electrical conductivity of TiN–Al2O3 nanocomposites. J. Eur. Ceram. Soc. 2003; 23: 74-6. [2] Songlin Ran, Lian Gao. Electrical properties and microstructural evolution of ZrO2–Al2O3–TiN nanocomposites prepared by spark plasma sintering. Ceram. Int. 2012; 38: 4928-6. [3] Bellosi A., Guicciardi S., Tampieri A.. Development and characterization of electroconductive Si3N4–TiN composites. J. Eur. Ceram. Soc. 1992; 9: 93-11. [4] Rak Z. S., Czechowski J.. Manufacture and properties of Al2O3–TiN particulate composites. J. Eur. Ceram. Soc. 1998; 18: 380-8. [5] Bellosi A., Portu G. D., Guicciardi S.. Preparation and properties of electroconductive Al2O3-based composites. J. Eur. Ceram. Soc. 1992; 10: 315-9. [6] Eric Laarz, Mats Carlsson, Benot Vivien, Mats Johnsson, Mats Nygren, Lennart Bergstrà ¶m. Colloidal processing of Al2O3-based composites reinforced with TiN and TiC particulates, whiskers and nanoparticles, J. Eur. Ceram. Soc. 2001; 21: 1035-9. [7] Z. J. Shen, M. Johnsson, M. Nygren. TiN/Al2O3 composites and graded laminates thereof consolidated by spark plasma sintering. J. Eur. Ceram. Soc. 2003; 23: 1068-8. [8] Y.H. Fei, C.Z. Huang, H.L. Liu, B. Zou. Mechanical properties of Al2O3–TiC–TiN ceramictoolmaterials. Ceram. Int. 2014; 40: 10209-5. [9] Zhijian Shen, Mats Johnsson, Mats Nygren. TiN/Al2O3 composites and graded laminates thereof consolidated by spark plasma sintering. J. Eur. Ceram. Soc. 2003; 23: 1068-8. [10]J. F. Sun, M. Z. Wangà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã…’Y. C. Zhao, X. P. Li, B. Y. Liang. Synthesis of titanium nitride powders by reactive ball milling of titanium and urea. J. Alloys Compd. 2009; 482: L31-3. [11] Shuai Xu, MingzhiWang, LinaQiao, JianliBing, QinZou, YuchengZhao. Enhancing the sinteringability of TiNx by introduction of nitrogen vacancy defects. Ceram. Int. 41 (2015) 9514–9520. [12] A.S. Kurlov, A.I. Gusev. Effect of nonstoichiometry of NbCy and TaCy powders on their high–energy ball milling. Int. J. Refract. Met. Hard Mater. 2014; 46: 136-12. [13] A.S. Kurlov, A.I. Gusev. High–energy milling of nonstoichiometric carbides: Effect of nonstoichiometry on particle size of nanopowders. J. Alloys Compd. 2014; 582: 118-11. [14] M. Kirihara, A. Itou, T. Noguchi, J. Yamamoto. Tantalum carbide or niobium carbide catalyzed oxidation of sulfides with hydrogen peroxide: Highly efficient and chemoselective syntheses of sulfoxides and sulfones. Synlett 2010; 21: 1561-5. [15] M. Guemmaz, A. Mosser, J.-C. Parlebas. Electronic changes induced by vacancies on spectral and elastic properties of titanium carbides and nitrides. J. Electron. Spectrosc. Relat. Phenom. 2000; 107: 101-11. [16] I.Pollini , A.Mosser , J.C. Parlebasb. Electronic, spectroscopic and elastic properties of early transition metal compounds. Physics Reports 2001; 355: 1-72. [17] G.R. Anstis, P. Chantikul, B. R. Lawn, D. B. Marshall, Acritical evaluation of indentation techniques for measuring fracture toughness: I, direct crack measurements, J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 64 (9) (1981) 533–538. [18] Shen Z. J., Johnsson M., Zhao Z., Nygren M.. Spark plasma sintering of Al2O3. J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 2002; 85 (8): 1927-7. [19] Evans A. G., Charles E. A.. Fracture toughness determination by intentation. J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 1976; 59 (7-8): 372-2. [20] Egawa T., Ichikizaki T., Tsukamoto H., Tsunoda H., Shimoyama T.. Material characteristics and cutting performance of TiN–Al2O3 ceramic tool. Int. J. Jpn. Soc. Precis. Eng. 1995; 29 (3): 228-7. [21] Y. Yang, H. Lu, C. Yu, J.M. Chen. First-principles calculations of mechanical properties of TiC and TiN. J. Alloys Compd. 2009; 485: 547-6. [22] R. H. J. Hannink, D. L. Kohlstedt, M. J. Murray. Slip system determination in cubic carbides by hardness anisotropy. ProcRoy Soc. 1972; 326 A (1566): 420-12. Figure captions Fig. 1 X-ray diffraction patterns of Al2O3–30 vol% TiN0.3 composite sintered via SPS at different temperatures in vacuum (6Ãâ€"103 Pa) for 10 min. Fig. 2 Back-scattered SEM micrograph of polished surface of Al2O3–30 vol% TiN0.3 composite sintered via SPS at 1400  °C in vacuum (6Ãâ€"103 Pa) for 10 min. Fig. 3 SEM micrographs of fracture cross-sections of Al2O3–30 vol.% TiN0.3 composite sintered via SPS at different temperatures in vacuum (6Ãâ€"103 Pa) for 10 min: (a) 1300  °C; (b) 1400  °C; (c) 1500  °C; (d) 1600  °C. Fig. 4 SEM micrographs of fracture cross-sections of the composites sintered via SPS at 1400  °C in vacuum (6Ãâ€"103 Pa) for 10 min: (a) Al2O3–10 vol% TiN0.3; (b) Al2O3–20 vol% TiN0.3; (c) Al2O3–30 vol% TiN0.3; (d) Al2O3–40 vol% TiN0.3. Fig. 5 Vickers hardness and fracture toughness of (a) Al2O3–30 vol% TiN0.3 composite versus sintering temperature; (b) Al2O3–TiN0.3 composites sintered at 1400  °C versus TiN0.3 content. Fig. 6 Bending strength of Al2O3–TiN0.3 composites sintered at 1400  °C versus TiN0.3 content. Fig. 7 Density of states for TiN and TiNx. à ¯Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ ºÃƒ ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ªÃƒ ¯Ã‚ Ã‚  Corresponding author. Tel (fax): 086-0335-8061671; E-mail: [emailprotected] Supported by the Hebei Province Scientific Committee of China (Nos. E2012203116, ZH2012003, JX2014-3 and ZX01-20140100-01).

Wilfred Owens Poetry Vs Platoon :: essays research papers

1. Within each text the setting plays an important part. How do both Stone and Owen convey the setting and the conditions the men faced? (Don’t forget you must refer to specific lines and poetic/film, techniques) Naturally it is a lot easier to convey the desired setting of a scene if the medium used involved visual concepts. However, Wilfred Owens poetry manages to give the reader an extremely vivid idea of what the conditions were like for the people whom he describes. Like Oliver Stone, in his movie Platoon, Owen uses some very simple concepts to set the scene in his writing, such as mud, or loud noises, which convey not only the setting, but also the mood that goes with it. For example, in the poem Duce et Decorum Est, in the lines â€Å"Gas! Gas! Quick. Boys! –An ecstasy of fumbling, Fitting the clumsy helmets on just in time† This excerpt not only give the reader a clear idea of what is physically happening in the trenches, but the language used and in particular, the incoherent shouting in the first line also implies the confusion of the situation, as if the author can recall no more than a blur of it. Oliver Stone also uses techniques to imply confusion, such as when the platoon are attacked in the jungle scenes; the camera frequently changes perspective (from long-shots to close-ups) as well as focus, and is often jolting suddenly as if it is from the perspective of one of the soldiers running. The movie Platoon also uses light against darkness to represent good and evil, or even at time to imply the emotion and fear which the characters are feeling. For example, the eerie, blue light, which is noticeable in the jungle scene, gives the scene an air of unfamiliarity, which is also reflected on the emotions of the characters’ faces. Despite these good points, it is clear that Platoon does not have the realistic scenarios that Wilfred Owen brings forth in his poetry. This is probably because Owen’s work was written while he was actually fighting in the First World War, and his poems often seem as if they are recollections of the actual events. Oliver Stone on the other hand has served very little time, if any at all, and the movie is no more than a chimerical expression of his feelings toward the American attitude of the Vietnam War. One parallel between the graphic scenes of Platoon and the poetic description shown in Wilfred Owens work can be seen in the constant battle against the natural elements that is shown in both examples. Wilfred Owens Poetry Vs Platoon :: essays research papers 1. Within each text the setting plays an important part. How do both Stone and Owen convey the setting and the conditions the men faced? (Don’t forget you must refer to specific lines and poetic/film, techniques) Naturally it is a lot easier to convey the desired setting of a scene if the medium used involved visual concepts. However, Wilfred Owens poetry manages to give the reader an extremely vivid idea of what the conditions were like for the people whom he describes. Like Oliver Stone, in his movie Platoon, Owen uses some very simple concepts to set the scene in his writing, such as mud, or loud noises, which convey not only the setting, but also the mood that goes with it. For example, in the poem Duce et Decorum Est, in the lines â€Å"Gas! Gas! Quick. Boys! –An ecstasy of fumbling, Fitting the clumsy helmets on just in time† This excerpt not only give the reader a clear idea of what is physically happening in the trenches, but the language used and in particular, the incoherent shouting in the first line also implies the confusion of the situation, as if the author can recall no more than a blur of it. Oliver Stone also uses techniques to imply confusion, such as when the platoon are attacked in the jungle scenes; the camera frequently changes perspective (from long-shots to close-ups) as well as focus, and is often jolting suddenly as if it is from the perspective of one of the soldiers running. The movie Platoon also uses light against darkness to represent good and evil, or even at time to imply the emotion and fear which the characters are feeling. For example, the eerie, blue light, which is noticeable in the jungle scene, gives the scene an air of unfamiliarity, which is also reflected on the emotions of the characters’ faces. Despite these good points, it is clear that Platoon does not have the realistic scenarios that Wilfred Owen brings forth in his poetry. This is probably because Owen’s work was written while he was actually fighting in the First World War, and his poems often seem as if they are recollections of the actual events. Oliver Stone on the other hand has served very little time, if any at all, and the movie is no more than a chimerical expression of his feelings toward the American attitude of the Vietnam War. One parallel between the graphic scenes of Platoon and the poetic description shown in Wilfred Owens work can be seen in the constant battle against the natural elements that is shown in both examples.

The Advantages of Web-Based Businesses for Entrepreneurs Essay

Starting and maintaining a successful business is the dream of all entrepreneurs. Today’s advancements in technology have created new opportunities for business owners to get closer to this dream. The Web has been the most effective tool in creating new opportunities for business owners. An entrepreneur should be more successful by starting, marketing, and operating a Web-based business. The first reason an entrepreneur should be more successful starting a Web-based business is because it’s simple and inexpensive to set up. Once an entrepreneur has the proper licensing and permits and creates a website, Business is can began operating. A Web-based business decreases start-up cost by not having to acquire a physical location. Obtaining financing to purchase or develop a physical location can be difficult and expensive. Banks are highly sensitive to risk and are often reluctant to lend money to businesses. The greater the risk a lender takes in making a loan, the higher the rate of interest a lender requires (McHugh, J., McHugh, S., & Nickel, 2008). Another reason an entrepreneur s...

Improving the Health of College Students Essay -- Health Nutrition Die

Improving the Health of College Students   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   â€Å"Did you know that public buildings seating over one hundred people will soon have to enlarge their seats to make accommodations for overweight people?† (Winfrey) This question is only a slight definition of the problem with the unhealthy habits of today’s Americans. Research suggests that this problem of overwhelming weight gain of Americans is beginning with college students. It is estimated that the average college student will gain 15 pounds during their freshman year.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Unhealthy habits, of course, are not a new problem among college students. But part of the reason that unhealthy habits remains a problem in colleges and universities may be that people are uninformed and do not know any real solutions for the problem.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The problem is American college students are putting their health at risk with poor eating and exercise habits because they are uneducated about nutrition. The problem is not being solved because each individual has their own idea about what good health means. After researching, I found that at Arizona State University there are only two courses taught about health and exercise that can be taken to fulfill the general studies requirements (ASU Bulletin 77). One of the two classes is FON 344: Nutrition Services Management, in which the student will learn organization, administration, and management of food and nutrition services in hospitals and other institutions. The second class taught is NUR 254: Health for All : Issues of World Health. In this class students will be introduced to issues of world health, determines of health and relationships of health to development and change. Out of the five core areas and three awareness areas, ... ...he only solution I could come up with and that I felt would make any kind of a difference in the American society. The health of our future lies in our hands, so lets use our minds to make a difference. Works Cited Elmer—Dewit, Philip. â€Å"Fat times.†Time . Jan 16, 1995 v145. N2. P58 ( Hartley, Gregg. â€Å"Why do Americans Exercise?† Total Health.Oct 1995V17. N5. P36 (1). â€Å"Healthy Eating "Medlantic, Health Group On-Line â€Å"Importance of Exercise.† Usana, Independent Distributor. On-Li â€Å"Oprah Winfrey.† The Oprah Winfrey Show. March 4, 1997. â€Å"Serotin and Eating Disorders.† Medical Science Bulletin. PharmeceuticaInformation Associates, Ltd. â€Å"The food guide pyrmaid-for you.† IFIC: Source: US. Department of Agriculture / V.S Department of Health and Human Services. â€Å"What are Americans Eating.†Nutrition Resear â€Å"General Studies Courses.† ASU Bulletin. P7

Analysis of the Book of the Dun Cow

In Walter Wangerin Jr. ‘s beast fable, The Book of the Dun Cow, two roosters have the unusual distinction of being Lords of their own manor. Webster defines a Lord as a â€Å"person having great powers and authority, a ruler or master,† where as a manor is defined as â€Å"the district over which a lord holds authority and domain† (Webster). Chauntecleer is introduced to the reader as the leader or Lord of the Coop and the ruler over the animals in the surrounding land. On the other hand, Cockatrice takes over as leader of his Coop and land after he kills his father, Senex. Chauntecleer and Cockatrice are two very different roosters who lead and rule their domain in stark contrast yet they are both labeled as Lords of the manor. Early on in the novel, Chauntecleer is portrayed as a short tempered, vain, and arrogant ruler who is not at all likeable. While he is proud and undoubtedly stubborn, he is also characterized as fair, compassionate, and just. With his noble bearing, Chauntecleer keeps a sense of order in his land and the animals' lives by crowing the canonical hours and occasional crows in his strong magnificent voice. His crows are compared to the clock of the community. Seven times a day, dutifully, with a deep sense of their importance, and by the immemorial command of the Divine, Chauntecleer crowed his canonical crows† (page 12). Crowing is his job and when he leads by his crows, the hens in his coop and the animals in his land are happy and unafraid, he is even able to make wrong things right. While Chauntecleer may be flawed as a le ader, his harem of hens and other creatures like John, Wesley Weasel, and Mundo Cani Dog see him as their protector and ruler. He protects the lives of those around him and sees that justice is carried out. As Lord he supports and protects his land and unites all his creatures whether fowl, rodent, or insect; animals large or small, wild or domestic to come join together to fight evil. East and upriver from Chauntecleer's land is another land ruled by another Lord, Cockatrice. A half rooster half serpent conceived as a result of an unnatural union of his rooster father, Senex, and the evil serpent Wyrm. Cockatrice rules his manor with threats and fear. Unlike his father, Senex, who always remembered the canonical crows to help unite his animals, Cockatrice never crows the canon. â€Å"So under him the day lost its meaning and its direction, and the animals lost any sense of time or purpose†¦ They were tired all the day long, and at night they did not sleep† (page 82). Under his evil rule, the creatures suffer from disunity, distrust, and dishonor. Cockatrice shows no concern for the animals of his land and resorts to having the Toad speak for him. He humiliates the animals a nd is an enemy to the creatures rather than a Lord. He rapes the hens and forces them to bear his children and suffer a cruel indignity. He swallows up thousands of children that hatch as Basilisk creatures and then vomits them back into the river. Rather than protect the creatures of his land, he orders his Basilisk children to kill everyone living until only he sits silently in his tree. Cockatrice leaves his land and flies west for he has no creatures to lord. By comparison, both Chauntecleer and Cockatrice are dominant roosters that command attention from the creatures in their communities. Likewise they are both offspring of past Lords of the Coop in their realm. Animals and creatures in their land and Coop hold a degree of fear of them. While both are able to gather their subjects together, the outcomes from these gatherings are fatally different. In contrast, the two Lords are as different as good and evil. While Chauntecleer is a strong postured, slightly scruffy, handsome rooster with noble bearing; Cockatrice is frightening and menacing with his serpent looking tail and bloody eyes. In return for his leadership and constant abiding, Chauntecleer asks only for good food, loyalty, sleep, a little color in his life, and a morning sunbath. On the other hand, Cockatrice demands total subservience from his creatures even though he shows them no respect or care. Chauntecleer rejoices and shares the pride of his three sons with his wife, Pertelote, with the creatures of the community while Cockatrice demands he have thousands of children by raping the hens to build an army of Basilisks who just by their touch cause death. As Lord of his land, Chauntecleer calls for all the creatures in his land to gather for a council so that he can prepare them for the upcoming battles with evil. In contrast, Cockatrice forbids the animals from gathering for meetings and even mere talking. Chauntecleer argues against revenge and hatred while Cockatrice is driven by this very evil. In Wangerin's novel, both Chauntecleer and Cockatrice have the gift of speech; however they each individually choose their own path of good or evil, order or chaos, and eventually life or death. Not only do all of the animal creatures from Cockatrice's land perish, he too dies because of his self destructive hatred. In the land of Chauntecleer, the creatures mourn the loss of their fellow animals killed in battle; however they look to their Lord of the manor to rebuild their land so they can serve their overall purpose to be the last protection against the almighty evil, Wyrm.

Oscar Wilde Constanly Mocks Victorian Society Essay

Act III offers happy resolution to the problems of identity and marriage that drive much of the humor in the previous acts. Wilde continues to mock the social customs and attitudes of the aristocratic class. He relentlessly attacks their values, views on marriage and respectability, sexual attitudes, and concern for stability in the social structure. Wilde attacks social behavior with the continuation of speeches by his characters that are the opposite of their actions. While Cecily and Gwendolen agree to keep a dignified silence, Gwendolen actually states that they will not be the first ones to speak to the men. In the very next line she says, â€Å"Mr. Worthing, I have something very particular to ask you.† Wilde seems to be saying that people speak as if they have strong opinions, but their actions do not support their words. If actions truly do speak louder than words, Wilde has made his point: Society, literally, speaks volumes, but the words are meaningless. Wilde continues his criticism of society’s valuing style over substance when Gwendolen says, â€Å"In matters of grave importance, style, not sincerity is the vital thing.† Lady Bracknell discusses Algernon’s marriage assets in the same light. She says, â€Å"Algernon is an extremely, I may almost say an ostentatiously, eligible young man. He has nothing, but he looks everything. What more can one desire?† Indeed, in a society where looks are everything and substance is discounted, Algernon is the perfect husband. What else do aristocrats value? They seem to esteem the appearance of respectability. Respectability means children are born within the context of marriage. Wilde once again mocks the hypocrisy of the aristocrats who appear to value monogamy but pretend not to notice affairs. Jack’s speech to Miss Prism, whom he believes to be his mother, is humorous in both its indignant defense of marriage and also its mocking of the loudly touted religious reformer’s virtues of repentance and forgiveness. He says to Miss Prism, â€Å"Unmarried! I do not deny that is a serious blow†¦. Mother, I forgive you.† His words are all the more humorous when Miss Prism indignantly denies being his mother. It was not at all unusual for aristocrats to have children born out of wedlock, but society turned its head, pretended not to know about those children, and did not condemn their fathers. The gulf between the upper class and its servants is explored in the scenes with Merriman and Prism. When Lady Bracknell unexpectedly shows up at Jack’s, Merriman coughs discretely to warn the couples of her arrival. One can only imagine his humorous thoughts as he watches the wealthy tiptoe around each other and argue about what should be important. When Lady Bracknell hears the description of Prism and recognizes her as their former nanny, she calls for Miss Prism by shouting â€Å"Prism!† without using a title in front of her name. Imperiously, Lady Bracknell divides the servant from the lady of the manor. Wilde’s audience would recognize this behavior on the part of the servants and the upper class. The stuffy class distinctions defined the society in which they lived. In an age of social registers, Lady Bracknell laments that even the Court Guides have errors. In the next breath, she discusses bribing Gwendolen’s maid to find out what is happening in her daughter’s life. In Act III she also reveals that her aristocratic brother’s family entrusted their most precious possession — Jack — to a woman who is more interested in her handbag and manuscript than in what happens to the baby in her charge. Wilde seems to be questioning the values of a society that believes in social registers, hires other people to neglectfully watch its children, and uses bribery to keep track of the children who are not missing. The death of Bunbury gives Wilde the opportunity to speak of aristocratic fears and have some continued fun with the upper class’s lack of compassion about death. The 1885 Trafalgar Square riots brought on ruling-class fears of insurrection, anarchism and socialism. Wilde humorously touches on these fears when he allows Algernon to explain the explosion of Bunbury. Lady Bracknell, fearing the worst, exclaims, â€Å"Was he the victim of a revolutionary outrage? I was not aware that Mr. Bunbury was interested in social legislation. If so, he is well punished for his morbidity.† Evidently, to Lady Bracknell’s acquaintances, laws that protect the welfare of those less fortunate are strictly morbid subjects. In fact, this attitude seems to contradict the upper-class concern for reform. However, in reality, Wilde is confirming the upper-class definition of social reform: conforming to the status quo. In Act III Wilde makes a comment on the value of being homosexual with a veiled reference to Lady Lancing. When Lady Bracknell asserts that Cecily needs to have a more sophisticated hairstyle, she recommends â€Å"a thoroughly experienced French maid† who can make a great deal of change in a very short time. She explains that such a change happened to an acquaintance of hers, Lady Lancing, and that after three months â€Å"her own husband did not know her.† Jack uses the opportunity to make a pun on the word know, using it in an aside — a comment only the audience can hear. Jack interprets know to mean they no longer had sex, insinuating Lady Lancing’s preference for the French maid. He says, â€Å"And after six months nobody knew her,† indicating that the homosexual experience made a new woman of her. Although homosexuality would have been seen as immoral to Wilde’s audience, Jack indicates that being homosexual might be a good thing — almost as a social commentary — directly to the audience. It seems a double life is necessary after one is married, whether it be bunburying or the homosexual life Wilde was experiencing in an increasingly public way. Wilde continues his assault on family life in Act III by mentioning its strange qualities in several conversations. It appears rather strange, for example, that Lady Bracknell cannot even recall the Christian name of her brother-in-law, Algy’s father. Algernon’s father died before Algernon was one, so stranger yet is Algernon’s comment, â€Å"We were never even on speaking terms.† He gives that as the reason he cannot remember his father’s name. Further assaulting family life, Wilde has Lady Bracknell describe Lord Moncrieff as â€Å"eccentric† but excuses his behavior because it â€Å"was the result of the Indian climate, and marriage, and indigestions, and other things of that kind.† Marriage is lumped together with things such as indigestion. In explaining Lord Moncrieff’s marriage, Lady Bracknell says that he was â€Å"essentially a man of peace, except in his domestic life.† Her description invites suspicion that the local constabulary might have visited because of domestic disturbances. Family life and domestic bliss do not get high marks in Wilde’s estimation. When Miss Prism humorously resolves the problem of Jack’s lineage, Wilde takes his hero of unknown origins and paints him as the aristocrat who will now be assimilated into his rightful place in the social structure. Through the sad melodrama of Jack’s handbag parentage, Wilde exaggerates the Victorian clichà © of the poor foundling who makes good. As soon as Jack is known to be a member of the established aristocracy, a Moncrieff in fact, he is seen as an appropriate person for Gwendolen to marry. They will, according to Wilde, live happily ever after in wedded bliss and continue the aristocratic blindness to anything that truly matters. The tag line of the play, spoken by Jack, is a familiar convention in Victorian farces. In discovering that he has been telling the truth all along — his name is Ernest, and he has a brother — Jack makes fun of the Victorian virtues of sincerity and honesty and asks Gwendolen to forgive him for â€Å"speaking nothing but the truth.† He now realizes the importance of being the person he is supposed to be. Wilde is saying perhaps that a new kind of earnestness exists, one that is different from the virtues extolled by the Victorians. Maybe it is possible to be honest and understand what should be taken seriously in life rather than being deceptive, hypocritical, and superficial. Some readers believe, however, that the ending shows Jack mockingly redefining Victorian earnestness as just the opposite: a life of lies, pleasure and beauty. Critics debate the interpretation of the last line. A curious stage direction occurs in Act III, revealing the concern Wilde had for the staging of his play to compliment his ideas. As his couples come together and move apart, he emphasizes the choreography of the pairs. He has them speak in unison, both the women together and the men together. It matters not who they are; they are interchangeable. Marriage is simply an institution that is a gesture, like a christening. The unison speaking is very stylistic, not meant to be realistic at all. It reveals Wilde’s attitude that what is important in Victorian marriage — names — really should not be as important as other considerations. In the end, Wilde leaves his audience thinking about the trivial social conventions they deem important. Their Victorian virtues perhaps need redefining. Institutions such as marriage, religion, family values and money should perhaps have new interpretations. The character of people, rather than their names and family fortunes, should weigh most heavily when considering their worth. Wilde was able to use humor to skewer these attitudes and convince his audience about the importance of being earnest.