Night World : Dark Angel Chapter 8

Gillian stood perfectly still and watched David disappear around a corner. (It's not time for the plan yet, kid. Now buck up. A cheery face is worth diamonds.) Gillian tried to put on a cheery face. The strange day continued. In each class, Gillian appealed to the teacher for a new book. In each class, she was bombarded with offers of notes and other help. And through it all Angel whispered in her ear, always suggesting just the right thing to say to each person. He was witty, irreverent, occasionally cutting-and so was Gillian. She had an advantage, she realized. Since nobody had ever noticed her before, it was almost like being a new girl. She could be anything she wanted to be, present herself as anyone, and be believed. (Like Cinderella at the ball. The mystery princess.) Angel's voice was amused but tender. In journalism class, Gillian found herself beside Daryl Novak, a languid girl with sloe eyes and drooping contemptuous lashes. Daryl the Rich Girl, Daryl the World-weary World Traveler. She talked to Gillian as if Gillian knew all about Paris and Rome and California. At lunch, Gillian hesitated as she walked into the cafeteria. Usually she sat with Amy in an obscure corner at the back. But recently Eugene had been sitting with Amy, and up front she could see a group that included Amanda the Cheerleader, Kim the Gymnast, and others from The Clique. David and Tanya were at the edge. (Do I sit with them? Nobody asked me.) (Not with them, my little rutabaga. But near them. Sit at the end of that table just beside them. Don't look at them as you walk by. Look at your lunch. Start eating it.) Gillian had never eaten her lunch alone before-or at least not in a public place. On days Amy was absent, if she couldn't find one of the few other juniors she felt comfortable with, she snuck into the library and ate there. In the old days she would have felt horribly exposed, but now she wasn't really alone; she had Angel cracking jokes in her ear. And she had a new confidence. She could almost see herself eating, calm and indifferent to stares, thoughtful to the point of being dreamy. She tried to make her movements a little languid, like Daryl the Rich Girl's. (And I hope Amy doesn't think I'm snubbing her. I mean, it's not as if she's back there alone. She's got Eugene.) (Yeah. We're gonna have to talk about Amy sometime, kid. But right now you're being paged. Smile and be gracious.) â€Å"Jill! Earth to Jill!† â€Å"Hey, Jill, c'mon over.† They wanted her. She was moving her lunch over to their table, and she wasn't spilling anything and she wasn't falling as she slid in. She was little and graceful, thistledown light in her movements, and they were surging around her to form a warm and friendly bulwark. And she wasn't afraid of them. That was the most wonderful thing of all. These kids who'd seemed to her like stars in some TV show about teenagers, were real people who got crumbs on themselves and made jokes she could understand. Gillian had always wondered what they found so funny when they were laughing together. But now she knew it was just the heady atmosphere, the knowledge that they were special. It made it easy to laugh at everything. She knew David, sitting quietly there with Tanya, could see her laughing. She could hear other voices occasionally, from people on the fringes of her group, people on the outside looking in. Mostly bright chatter and murmurs of admiration. She thought she heard her name mentioned. †¦ And then she focused on the words. â€Å"I heard her mom's a drunk.† They sounded horribly loud and dear to Gillian, standing out against the background noise. She could feel her whole skin tingling with shock and she lost track of the story Kim the Gymnast was telling. (Angel-who said that? Was it about me-my mom?) She didn't dare look behind her. â€Å"-started drinking a few years ago and having these hallucinations-â€Å" This time the voice was so loud that it cut through the banter of Gillian's group. Kim stopped in mid-sentence. Bruce the Athlete's smile faltered. An awkward silence fell. Gillian felt a wave of anger that made her dizzy. (Who said that? I'll kill them-) (Calm down! Calm down. That's not the way to handle it at all.) (But-) (I said, calm down. Look at your lunch. No, at your lunch. Now say-and make your voice absolutely cool-â€Å"I really hate rumors, don't you? I don't know what kind of people start them.†) Gillian breathed twice and obeyed, although her voice wasn't absolutely cool. It had a little tremor. â€Å"I don't know either,† a new voice said. Gillian glanced up to see that David was on his feet, his face hard as he surveyed the table behind her as if looking for the person who'd spoken. â€Å"But I think they're pretty sick and they should get a life.† There was the cold glint in his eyes that had given him his reputation as a tough guy. Gillian felt as if a hand had steadied her. Gratitude rushed through her-and a longing that made her bite down on her lip. â€Å"I hate rumors, too,† J.Z. Oberlin said in her absent voice. J. Z. the Model was the one who looked like a Calvin Klein ad, breathlessly sexy and rather blank, but right now she seemed oddly focused. â€Å"Somebody was putting around the rumor last year that I tried to kill myself. I never did find out who started it.† Her hazy blue-green eyes were narrowed. And then everyone was talking about rumors, and people who spread rumors, and what scum they were. The group was rallying around Gillian. But it was David who stood up for me first, she thought. She had just looked over at him, trying to catch his eye, when she heard the tinkling noise. It was almost musical, but the kind of sound that draws attention immediately in a cafeteria. Somebody had broken a glass. Gillian, along with everyone else, glanced around to see who'd done it. She couldn't see anybody. No one had the right expression of dismay, no one was focused on anything definite. Everybody was looking around in search mode. Then she heard it again, and two people standing near the cafeteria doors looked down and then up. Above the doors, far above, was a semi-circular window in the red brick. As Gillian stared at the window she realized that light was reflecting off it oddly, almost prismatically. There seemed to be crazy rainbows in the glass†¦ And something was sparkling down, falling like a few specks of snow. It hit the ground and tinkled, and the people by the door stared at it on the cafeteria floor. They looked puzzled. Realization flashed on Gillian. She was on her feet, but the only words that she could find were, â€Å"Oh, my God!† â€Å"Get out! It's all going to go! Get out of there!† It was David, waving at the people under the window. He was running toward them, which was stupid, Gillian thought numbly, her heart seeming to stop. Other people were shouting. Cory and Amanda and Bruce-and Tanya. Kim the Gymnast was shrieking. And then the window was going, chunks of it falling almost poetically, raining and crumbling, shining and crashing. It fell and fell and fell. Gillian felt as if she were watching an avalanche in slow motion. At last it was over, and the window was just an arch-shaped hole with jagged teeth clinging to the edges. Glass had flown and bounced and skittered all over the cafeteria, where it lay like hailstones. And people from tables amazingly distant were examining cuts from ricocheting bits. But nobody had been directly underneath, and nobody seemed seriously hurt. (Thanks to David.) Gillian was still numb, but now with relief. (He got them all out of the way in time. Oh, God, he isn't hurt, is he?) (He's fine. And what makes you think he did it all alone? Maybe I had some part. I can do that, you know-put it into people's heads to do things. And they never even know I'm doing it.) Angel's voice sounded almost-well-piqued. (Huh? You did that? Well, that was really nice of you.) Gillian was watching David across the room, watching Tanya examine his arm, nod, shrug, look around. He's not hurt. Thank heaven. Gillian felt so relieved it was almost painful. It was then that it occurred to her to wonder what had happened. That window-before the glass fell it had looked just like the mirror in her bathroom. Evenly shattered from side to side, spidery cracks over every inch of the surface. The bathroom mirror had cracked while Tanya was being catty about Gillian's room. Now Gillian remembered the last thing she'd wanted to ask Angel last night. It had been about how the mirror came to do that. This window †¦ it had started falling a few minutes after someone insulted Gillian's mother. Nobody had heard it actually break, but it couldn't have happened too long ago. The small hairs on the back of Gillian's neck stirred and she felt a fluttering inside. It couldn't be. Angel hadn't even appeared to her yet†¦ But he'd said he was always with her†¦ An angel wouldn't destroy things†¦ But Angel was a different kind of angel. (Ah, excuse me. Hello? Do you want to share some thoughts with me?) (Angel!) For the first time since his soft voice had sounded in her ear, Gillian felt a sense ofover- crowdedness. Of her own lack of privacy. The uneasy fluttering inside her increased. (Angel, I was just-just wondering†¦) And then the silent words burst out. (Angel, you wouldn't-would you? You didn't do those things for my sake- â€Å"break the mirror and that window-?) A pause. And then, in her head, riotous laughter. Genuine laughter. Angel was whooping. Finally, the sounds died to mental hiccups. (Me?) Gillian was embarrassed. (I shouldn't have asked. It was just so weird†¦) (Yeah, wasn't it.) This time Angel sounded grimly amused. (Well, never mind; you're already late for class. The bell rang five minutes ago.) Gillian coasted through her last two classes in a daze. So much had happened today-she felt as if she'd led a full life between waking up and now. But the day wasn't over yet. In her last class, studio art, she once again found herself talking to Daryl the Rich Girl. Daryl was the only one of that crowd that took art or journalism. And in the last minutes before school ended, she regarded Gillian from under drooping eyelashes. â€Å"You know, there are other rumors going around about you. That you and Davey-boy have something going behind Tanya's back. That you meet secretly in the mornings and†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Daryl shrugged, pushing back frosted hair with a hand dripping with rings. Gillian felt jolted awake. â€Å"So?† â€Å"So you really should do something about it. Rumors spread fast, and they grow. I know. You want to either deny them, or†-Daryl's lips .quirked in a smile-â€Å"disarm them.† (Oh, yeah? And just how do I do that?) (Shut up and listen to her, kid. This is one smart cookie.) â€Å"If there're parts that are true, it's usually best to admit those in public. That takes some of the punch out. And it's always helpful to track down the person starting the rumors-if you can.† (Tell her you know that. And that you're going to see Tanya after school.) (Tanya? You mean-?) (Just tell her.) Somehow Gillian gathered herself enough to repeat Angel's words. Daryl the Rich Girl looked at her with a new expression of respect. â€Å"You're sharper than I thought. Maybe you didn't need my help after all.† â€Å"No,† Gillian said without Angel's prompting. â€Å"I'm always glad for help. It's-it's a rough world.† â€Å"Isn't it, though?† Daryl said and raised already arched eyebrows. (So it was Tanya who spread that stuff about my mom.) Gillian almost stumbled as she trudged out of art class. She was tired and bewildered. Somehow, she'd have thought Tanya was above that. (She had help. It takes a really efficient system to get a rumor to peak circulation that fast. But she was the instigator. Turn left here.) (Where am I going?) (You're gonna catch her coming out of marketing education. She's alone in there right now. The teacher asked to see her after class, then unexpectedly had to run to the bathroom.) Gillian felt distantly amused. She sensed Angel's hand in these arrangements. And when she poked her head inside the marketing ed room, she saw that Tanya was indeed alone. The tall girl was standing by a cloudy green blackboard. â€Å"Tanya, we need to talk.† Tanya's shoulders stiffened. Then she ran a hand across her already perfect dark hair and turned. She looked more like a future executive than ever, with her face set in cool lines and her exotic gray eyes running over Gillian in appraisal. Without Angel, Gillian would have dried up and withered away under that scrutiny. Tanya said one word. â€Å"Talk.† What followed was more like a play than a conversation for Gillian. She repeated what Angel whispered to her, but she never had any idea what was coming. The only way to survive was to give herself up completely to his direction. â€Å"Look, I know you're upset with me, Tanya. But I'd like to deal with this with a little maturity, okay?† She followed Angel's instructions over to a desk and brushed absent fingers over its imitation-wood top. â€Å"I don't think there's any need for us to act like children.† â€Å"And I don't think I know what you're talking about.† â€Å"Oh, really?† Gillian turned and looked Tanya in the face. â€Å"I think you know exactly what I'm talking about.† (Angel, I feel just like one of those people in a soap opera-) â€Å"Well, you're wrong. And, as a matter of fact, I happen to be busy-â€Å" â€Å"I'm talking about the rumors, Tanya. I'm talking about the stories about my mom. And I'm talking about David.† Tanya stood perfectly still. For a moment she seemed surprised that Gillian was taking such a direct approach. Then her gray eyes hardened with the clear light of battle. â€Å"All right, let's talk about David,† she said in a pleasant voice, moving tigerishly toward Gillian, â€Å"I don't know about any rumors, but I'd like to hear what you and David were doing this morning. Care to tell me?† (Angel, she's actually enjoying this. Look at her! And she's bigger than me.) (Trust me, kid.) â€Å"We weren't doing anything,† Gillian said. She had to tip her chin up to look Tanya in the face. Then she looked aside and shook her head. â€Å"All right. I'll be honest about that. I like David, Tanya. I have ever since he moved in. He's good and he's noble and he's honest and he's sweet. But that doesn't mean I want to take him away from you. In fact, it's just the opposite.† She turned and walked away, looking into the distance. â€Å"I think David deserves the best. And I know he really cares about you. And that's what happened this morning-he told me you guys had made a promise to each other. So you see, you've got no reason to be suspicious.† Tanya's eyes were glittering. â€Å"Don't try to pull that. All this †¦Ã¢â‚¬  She waved a hand to indicate Gillian's dress and hair. â€Å"In one day you turn from Little Miss Invisible to this. And you start prancing around the school like you own it. You can't pretend you're not trying to get him.† â€Å"Tanya, the way I dress has nothing at all to do with David.† Gillian told the lie calmly, facing the chalk-misted blackboard again. â€Å"It's just-something I needed to do. I was-tired of being invisible.† She turned her head slightly, not enough to see Tanya. â€Å"But that's beside the point. The real issue here is what's best for David. And I think you're best for him-as long as you treat him fairly.† â€Å"And what is that supposed to mean?† Tanya was losing her legendary cool. She sounded venomous, almost shrill. â€Å"It means no more fooling around with Bruce Faber.† (Oh, my God, Angel! Bruce Faber? Bruce the Athlete? She's been fooling around with Bruce Faber?) Tanya's voice cracked like a whip. â€Å"What are you talking about? What do you know?† â€Å"I'm talking about those nights at the pool parties last summer in Macon's cabana. While David was up north at his grandma's. I'm talking about what happened in Bruce's car after the Halloween dance.† (In a cabana?) There was a silence. When Tanya spoke again, her voice was a sort of icy explosion. â€Å"How did you find out?† Gillian shrugged. â€Å"People who're good at spreading rumors can be a two-edged sword.† â€Å"I thought so. That brat Kim! Her and her mouth†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Then Tanya's voice changed. It became a voice with claws and Gillian could tell she was moving closer. â€Å"I suppose you're planning to tell David about this?† â€Å"Huh?† For a moment Gillian was too confused to follow Angel's directions. Then she got hold of herself. â€Å"Oh, of course I'm not going to tell David. That's why I'm telling you. I just want you to promise that you're not going to do anything like that anymore. And I'd appreciate it if you'd stop telling people things about my mom-â€Å" â€Å"I'll do worse than that!† Suddenly Tanya was standing right behind Gillian. Her voice was a yelling hiss. â€Å"You have no idea what I'll do if you try to mess with me, you snotty little midget. You are going to be so sorry-â€Å" â€Å"No, I think you've done plenty already.† The voice came from the door. Gillian heard it, and in that instant she understood everything.

Deforestation Extinction Of Species Conclusion Essay

Deforestation Tropical forests include dense rainforests, where rainfall is abundant year-round; seasonally moist forests, where rainfall is abundant, but seasonal; and drier, more open woodlands. Tropical forests of all varieties are disappearing rapidly as humans clear the natural landscape for construction, to build roads and urban areas and make room farms and pastures (Lindsey, 2007). Although deforestation meets some of the human needs, it also has profound, sometimes devastating, consequences, including extinction of flora and fauna, social conflict, and climate change, challenges that are not just local, but global. At the current rate of deforestation, the world’s rain forest may completely vanish in the next century (Lindsey, 2007). Jungle burned for agriculture in southern Mexico. (By Jami Dwyer via Wikimedia Commons) Deforestation has many negative effects on the environment. The most dramatic impact is a loss of habitat for millions of species. Seventy percent of Earth’s land animals and plants live in forests, and many cannot survive the deforestation that destroys their homes (National Geographic, 2015). The forests are the home to a large number of animals; trees are also an important component of the water cycle (Bose, 2012). The roots of trees hold the soil together and prevent soil erosion. Deforestation at such alarming rate has been a cause of constant worries for environmentalists the world over (Bose, 2012). In some developing countries, massive deforestation is on-going and shaping climate and geography (Science daily, 2015). Deforestation may lead to a lot of causes, ranging from slow forest degradation to sudden and catastrophic wildfires. Deforestation results from removal of trees without sufficient reforestation; however, even with reforestation, significant biodiversity loss may occur Moreover, deforestation also alters the hydrologic cycle, the moisture in the atmosphere and the amount of water in the soil and groundwater (Science daily, 2015). Deforestation in indigenous territories by loggers, colonizers, and refugees has sometimes triggered violent conflict (Lindsey, 2007). Forest preservation can be socially divisive, as well. International and national governments and aid agencies struggle with questions about what level of human presence, if any, is compatible with conservation goals in tropical forests, how to balance the needs of indigenous peoples with expanding rural populations and national economic development, and whether establishing large, pristine, uninhabited protected areas—even if that means removing current residents—should be the highest priority of conservation efforts in tropical forests (Lindsey, 2007). There are a few reasons which cause deforestation; one of the biggest drivers of deforestation is conversion to cropland and pasture, mostly for subsistence, which is growing crops or raising livestock to meet daily needs. Farmers cut forests to provide more spaces for grazing livestock and planting crops. The conversion to agricultural land usually results from multiple direct factors. For instance, countries build roads and railway expansion into remote areas to improve overland transportation of goods. The road development itself causes a limited amount of deforestation (Lindsey, 2007). When loggers have harvested an area’s valuable timber, they will continue to harvest more. The roads and the logged areas become a magnet for settlers, farmers and ranchers who slash and burn the remaining forest for cropland or cattle pasture, completing the deforestation chain that began with road building (Lindsey, 2007). In other cases, forests that have been degraded by logging become fire-prone and are eventually deforested by repeated accidental fires from adjacent farms or pastures (Lindsey, 2007). Wildfires and slash and burn agriculture release carbon dioxide that would otherwise be stored in the forest biomass into the atmosphere. Forest regrowth and crops recapture some carbon, but overall, deforestation is a source of atmospheric carbon dioxide and therefore a contributor to global warming. In the Amazon alone, scientists estimate that the trees contain more carbon than 10 years’ worth of human-produced greenhouse gases (Lindsey, 2007). When people clear the forests, usually with fire, carbon stored in the wood returns back to the atmosphere, enhancing the greenhouse effect and global warming. Once the forest is cleared for crop or grazing  land, the soils can become a large source of carbon emissions. In places such as Indonesia, the soils of swampy lowland forests are rich in partially decayed organic matter, known as peat (Lindsey, 2007). During extended droughts, such as during El Nià ±o events (large-scale ocean-atmosphere climate interaction linked to a periodic warming in sea surface temperatures across the central and east-central Equatorial Pacific), (National Ocean Service, 2014) the forests and the peat become flammable, especially if they have been degraded by logging or accidental fire. When they burn, they release huge volumes of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (Lindsey, 2007). It is not certain whether intact tropical forests are a net source or sink of carbon. Certainly, the trunks of trees are a large, stable pool of carbon that grows as forests mature or regenerate on previously cleared land. But trees, plants, and microorganisms in the soil also respire, releasing carbon dioxide as they break down carbohydrates for energy. In the Amazon, huge volumes of carbon dioxide escape from decaying leaves and other organic matter in rivers and streams that flood large areas of forest during the rainy season (Lindsey, 2007). Extinction of Species The variety and interdependence of all living things has led to the evolution of world. Man has been killing animals’ right since the time he acquired the skill of hunting (Bose, 2012). Although in those times, hunting was the means for survival, human beings continued to kill animals even after they had learned to cultivate crops. The relentless hunting by human beings, sometimes for the hide of a cheetah or the tusks of the elephants, or simply to cook the tasty shark fin soup, has wiped out the existence of a large number of animals in just a century (Bose, 2012). Besides hunting, human activities like deforestation and environmental pollution has led to the extinction of a large number of animals and plants due to loss of their habitats. Since prehistoric times, humans have used the earth’s resources to enrich their own lives. However, there is a point when the resources are being  overexploited, and this exploitation begins to threaten the existence of other species. Over exploitation presents itself in many forms: exhausting a species as a supply of food or hunting a species for trophies, clothing, medicine or souvenir. In the aquatic biomes, overfishing is a worldwide manifestation of over-exploitation (Hogan, 2014). In the case of terrestrial ecosystems, overgrazing and intensive cropping systems are the chief elements of over-exploitation. Hunting for trophy or medicinal extracts comprises smaller biomass destruction, but is specifically targeted at some of the most threatened fauna of the planet (Hogan, 2014). These practices are generally overtly mercenary, rather than being motivated by subsistence or hunger, as most of the farming exploitation. For example, tigers have been an integral part of traditional Chinese medicine for over 1000 years and as such, they have been hunted to the brink of extinction as a product of the lucrative trade in tiger body parts (Hogan, 2014). Base on this picture, these are the modern biotic extracts store in Hong Kong, China. Certain of these products represent trade in organisms that are endangered species. http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/150962/ Pollution is the introduction of potentially harmful chemical or physical constituents into the environment, which substances substantially harm individual species metabolisms, or which strongly and rapidly alter a stable historic ecosystem composition (Hogan, 2014). This introduction usually enters the atmosphere, soil or natural water systems of the Earth. Widespread air pollutants are sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, and oxides of nitrogen. Water and soil pollutants of concern are heavy metals and a large category of pesticide and herbicide compounds (Hogan, 2014). Chemical pollutants may interfere with metabolic functions, causing functional impairment or death of organisms. Reductions in species numbers anywhere within a given food chain, of course, have ramifications to other members of the ecosystem (Hogan, 2014). Pollution is often a contributing factor along with habitat degradation in extinction processes. Here are some species that have all gone extinct in the past two centuries. The Quagga (Equus quagga ssp. quagga) was a subspecies of the common plains  zebra and a native of South Africa. Known for its unique stripes, the Quagga was hunted for its hide and killed by ranchers who believed the animals competed with livestock for grazing area. The last known Quagga died at the Amsterdam Zoo in 1883 (Gerken, 2013). Known as Tasmanian tigers due to their stripes, thylacines (Thylacinus cynocephalus) were the largest modern carnivorous marsupial according to the Smithsonian Institution (Gerken, 2013). They once existed across the Australian continent, but their habitat had been reduced to the island of Tasmania by the time European settlers arrived (Gerken, 2013).Thylacines were believed to kill livestock and were often shot and trapped. They were a convenient scapegoat for poor financial returns and high stock losses at a time of rural depression in Tasmania according to the National Museum of Australia (Gerken, 2013). The Tecopa pupfish (Cyprinodon nevadensis calidae) was native to the Mojave desert in California and could survive in waters as warm as 108 degrees Fahrenheit (Gerken, 2013). Human development around the Tecopa Hot Springs in the mid-20th century and the channelling of two springs together left the habitat unsuitable for the small fish. The Tecopa pupfish became extinct by 1970 or soon after (Gerken, 2013). Conclusion â€Å"Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s needs, but not every man’s greed.†- Mahatma Gandhi. It is widely recognised that we are hugely overspending our current budget of natural resources. At the existing rates of exploitation, there is no way for the environment to recover in good time and save it for our future generation. Everything on our mother earth is interconnected, and while the nature supplies us with valuable environmental services. Without any of it, we cannot exist. We depend on each other’s action and the way we treat natural resources. We should adopt a holistic view of nature. It is not an entity that exists separately from us; we are an inalienable part of nature and we should care for it in the most appropriate manner. This is the only way we possibly solve the problem of environmental pollution. The only key to save our beloved Mother Earth has been wandering with us from the very beginning. It has been silently drifting, waiting for someone to discover its dominating power.

PH Titration Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

PH Titration - Lab Report Example The paper describes the experiment. During titration, it is essential to figure out the ‘equivalence point’ where moles of acid and moles of base added become equivalent. To aid an experimenter in this situation, a halochromic organic compound known as ‘indicator’ (s.a. phenolphthalein, methyl red, methyl orange, and bromothymol blue) is incorporated where appearance of color change from clear solution signifies the ‘end point’ or the point assumed to be nearest the point of equivalence. At this stage, the volume of reading from the burette is noted down the instant the indicator changes color. With experimental outcomes comprising known molar concentrations and volumes of acid and base used, pH is calculated. In place of an indicator, glass electrode is utilized so that multiple pHs may be read and graphed from which to determine the pH at the equivalence point. For the neutralization reaction occurring between HCl (aq) and NaOH (aq): For the n eutralization reaction occurring between CH3COOH (aq) and NaOH (aq): Hypothesis: The equivalence point is achieved once the titration has gone to the extent when the acid (analyte) and the base (titrant) are in equimolar amounts which takes place on yielding a neutral pH along a steep region in the titration curve Aim: To locate the ‘equivalence point’ through the measure of pH based on the titrant volume vs. pH-titration curve obtained in the experiment and identify the remaining species (in excess) as well as find the pH of the resulting solution after each titration attempt Method: The burette was filled with 1.0 NaOH to the zero mark. A 250- conical flask was rinsed with distilled water, emptying the flask and refilling it with about 50 of deionised water, after which, a 25 of 0.1 HCl was poured into the flask via pipette and the flask was placed on the magnetic stirrer. With the stirrer bar dropped in the flask, the glass electrode was immersed in the flask then th e burette was positioned over the flask’s mouth such that the NaOH would be added into it without obstruction from the glass electrode. The magnetic stirrer was turned on and the flask was adjusted in the manner that would enable the stirrer bar to move freely, having no obstructive contact with the glass electrode throughout the titration process. Measuring of the pH prior to titration was initiated then successive additions of the base titrant were carried out starting with 1 until the equivalent point was arrived at, followed by 0.2-additions that sum up to approximately 8 of NaOH. Final addition of two consecutive 1- titrant amounts was made, taking into account the pH reading for each addition from the onset of titration to this point. Another trial (using the same analyte -- HCl) was performed, then titration was repeated, this time using a different analyte (0.1 CH3COOH) and applying the same quantity (50 ) of deionised water and of 1.0 NaOH. As conducted for HCl, pHs of neutralization reaction between HOAc (analyte) and the titrant (NaOH) were correspondingly read after each base addition. Results and calculations: Note: ( 1 cm3 ? 1 mL ; 1 mol / dm3 ? 1 M ) pH @ equivalence point is about 6.8 based on the graph. This corresponds to NaOH volume of about 5.5 mL. mmoles NaOH = (1.0 M) (9.00 mL) = 9.0 mmoles NaOH mmoles HCl = (0.1 M) (25.00 mL) = 2.5 mmoles HCl Upon neutralization, 9.00 mmoles - 2.5 mmoles = 6.5 mmoles NaOH left total volume = 50 + 25 + 9 = 84 mL [OH-] = = 0.07738 M ---? pOH = -log (0.07738) pOH = 1.11 so that pH = 14 - 1.11 ---? pH = 12.89 Since NaOH and HCl are strong base and strong acid, respectively, pH

Review Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Review - Research Paper Example With a sound Quality Assurance in place, customers and end users of products and services of a particular company is guaranteed that its output conforms with the required quality of such product and service that will meet and exceed the customer’s need. Kaizen is a Japanese Quality Assurance system of continuous improvement in quality, technology, processes, company culture, productivity, safety and leadership. It is a system that involves every employee - from upper management to the cleaning crew. Everyone is encouraged to come up with small improvement suggestions on a regular basis. This is not a once a month or once a year activity. It is continuous quality improvement process. Japanese companies, such as Toyota and Canon receive a total of 60 to 70 suggestions per employee per year which are written down, shared and implemented (Anon., 2011). The limitation of Kaizen is that it is dependent on communication due to the nature of its system improvement coming from suggestions. Any breakdown in communication will impair its efficacy. TQM on the other hand is a comprehensive and structured approach to organizational management that seeks to improve the quality of products and services through ongoing refinements in response to continuous feedback (Anon., 2011). TQM requirements may be defined separately for a particular organization or may be in adherence to established standards, such as the International Organization for Standardizations  ISO 9000  series. At its core, Total Quality Management (TQM) is a management approach to long-term success through customer satisfaction. In a TQM effort, all members of an organization participate in improving processes, products, services and the culture in which they work (Anon., 2011). TQM as a matter of quality principle is not known to have limitation but only the employees who are implementing it. C. The main

First Exam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

First Exam - Essay Example In addition, peoples understanding of minority groups is often based on the experience of minority males, and the experience of minority females are much less known and recorded(21). Though both minorities have been hushed, those of female minorities are the worst affected as they have been totally silenced. Prejudice involves an individual thinking negatively of other groups in negative ways, attaches negative emotions, and prejudges individuals based on their group memberships. Every form of prejudice, even the most ancient, started at some point in history. A common factor that is critical in the origin of prejudice is a contest between groups (23). Prejudice originates in the center of that competition and is used to justify and rationalize the advantaged class of the winning set. History gives examples of one group dominating and takes resources from, or eliminates a threat from some other group that becomes a minority group. Prejudice helps mobilize emotional energy for the contest; justify rejection and attack as well as rationalizes the structures of domination such as slavery or segregation. Groups react to the competition and all threats presented by other groups. The link between prejudice and competition has been exhibited in differing settings and circumstances that range f rom labor strikes to the international war. In 1950s, an experiment was conducted to illustrate group competition and prejudice. It was conducted on 11 and 12 years old boys at a summer camp called Robber’s cave. The boys were split into two factions classified as the Rattlers and the eagles and lived in separate cabins. They were frequently pitted beside each other in various activities based on a competitive basis. The boys from each group developed and expressed damaging feelings towards the other group. The strength of this is that it helps to mobilize feelings and justify

What is knowledge Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

What is knowledge - Essay Example Diverse methodological approaches and various working definitions of knowledge has further created confusions. While knowledge management might yet be able to be claimed to a coherent scientific paradigm, recent publications indicate an increased conceptual and methodological rigor is needed to establish knowledge management as recognized scholarly discipline. The emergence of research and practical information on aspects of managing knowledge indicates that knowledge management is more than the latest management fad. Epistemology, the study of knowledge, has a log honorable tradition in philosophy, starting with early Greek philosophers. Questions such as†what do we know?† and â€Å"what does it mean to say that someone know something?† have been discussed in philosophical literature. The idea of a formal logical analysis of reasoning about knowledge is somewhat more recent, but goes back at least to Von Wright’s work in the early 1950’s.the first book-length treatment of epistemic logic- the logic of knowledge- is Hintikka’s seminal work knowledge and belief, which appeared in 1962. The 1960’s saw a flourishing of interest in this area of philosophy community. The major interest was in trying to capture the inherent properties of knowledge. Axioms for knowledge were suggested, attacked, and defended. ... in philosophy, starting with early Greek philosophers. Questions such as"what do we know" and "what does it mean to say that someone know something" have been discussed in philosophical literature. The idea of a formal logical analysis of reasoning about knowledge is somewhat more recent, but goes back at least to Von Wright's work in the early 1950's.the first book-length treatment of epistemic logic- the logic of knowledge- is Hintikka's seminal work knowledge and belief, which appeared in 1962. The 1960's saw a flourishing of interest in this area of philosophy community. The major interest was in trying to capture the inherent properties of knowledge. Axioms for knowledge were suggested, attacked, and defended. More recently, researchers in such diverse fields as economics, linguistics, AI (artificial intelligence), and theoretical computer science has become interested in reasoning about knowledge. While, of course, some of the issues that concerned the philosophers have been of interest to these researchers as well, the focus of attention has shifted. For one thing, there are pragmatic concerns about the relationship between knowledge and action.It may seem, what ever the merits of a metaphysical description of the world, that knowledge itself cannot be one of its objects, for knowledge is of the world, or not at least not only in the world. But there is nothing that is not in the world. The supposition that there is, in this case, is largely due to a picturesque conception of the self and a related conception of knowledge which have dominated most of continental philosophy at least since Fichte, although Hume warned against them in 1739.they may be

Several Topics(Psychology 101) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Several Topics(Psychology 101) - Essay Example According to social-learning theories, people learn by merely observing what others do and what happens to them. Cognitive theories emphasize cognitive processes such as thinking and judging and are guided by cognitions (e.g. expectations) about the world, especially those about other people. Trait theorists assume that traits are relatively stable over time, differ among individuals and they influence behavior. Hence personality theories focus on different key elements to explain the relationship between personality and other psychological constructs. A2.Sigmund Freud spent most of his life developing the theory of personality to describe how the human psyche or mind operates. According to his theory, human psyche is composed of parts that are conscious, preconscious, and unconscious: the conscious part of the psyche consists of all the thoughts that currently occupy our mind, the preconscious part of the psyche consists of the thoughts, memories, and knowledge that we are not currently aware of, but that are available to us as memories and knowledge and the unconscious part of our psyche holds thoughts, memories, impulses that we are not aware of. Freud also posited that the psyche is composed of three structures: the id, ego, and superego which interact and wrestle with each other for dominance and results in the whole of each human’s behavior. The id is driven by primitive animal instincts and seeks to maximize pleasure and minimize any discomfort. However, it does not care about what is practical, safe, or moral. The e go refers to one’s sense of self and functions according to the reality principle because its job is to gratify the id in accord with reality. The superego operates according to the morality principle in that it seeks what is good and moral above all else. The ego aims to gratify the id’s primitive needs within the constraints of reality and within the moral

Neoottomanism in Turkey and the Role of Turkey in the new formation of Essay

Neoottomanism in Turkey and the Role of Turkey in the new formation of the Arab world - Essay Example Thus, ottomanism transformed into the ideology of pan-Turkism. The Turkish leaders of the late XX - early XXI century, especially Recep Tayyip Erdogan, updated the doctrine of ottamanism-pan-Turkism, turning it into so-called neoottomanism. Modern Turkish leaders advocated the creation of an integrated economic and cultural-linguistic space that has commonality of interests; it is the main essence of this ideology. However, neo-Ottomanism implies the dominant influence of Turkey not only on Turks, but even more - non-Turkic peoples and countries that were part of the Ottoman Empire at different time. The doctrine of "neoottomanism" was not completely comprehended even by its originators. Nowadays a lot of European and American politicians are greatly concerned about the given ideology and they do not want to stay away from it. United States, for example, hatch the plans to create a unified Turkic political space dominated by Turkey, and are interested in supporting the sovereignty of newly independent states of Central Eurasia. A heavy blow to this "subtle pan-Turkism", i.e. neoottomanism, was stroke by the Collective Security Treaty Organization, members of which were two Turkic states - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and the Islamic one – Tajikistan. Uzbekistan led its own political game for a certain period, but then, joined the CSTO. Turkmenistan's foreign policy tends to neutrality at the present time. Under the auspices of the U.S., such projects as The Black Sea Cooperation and GUAM were developed. If earlier the U.S. was more interested in strengthening Turkey's influence on the Balkans, nowadays - on Northern and Southern Caucasus, Crimea, Ukraine, Bessarabia, as well as Syria, Lebanon and Iraq - as vectors, amplifying the Turkish-Russian confrontation. "Political and operational" role of Turkey in these regions is the most attractive for the U.S. But practice shows that the U.S. is not confident in the effectiveness of such role-based participation of Turkey, even in these projects. Yes, Turkey could play a leading role in the formation and activity of GUAM, but Western politicians are in no hurry to pedal its role. Turkey activities in Georgia, especially in some regions, such as Ajaria and Abkhazia, as well as in Dagestan and Chechnya, Kabardino-Balkaria, Adygeya, Krasnodar territory, Bulgaria, Bosnia, Albania, Kosovo Macedonia, and Bessarabia can only be seen in part of a joint Turkish-American project. All other joint plans of the United States and Turkey in Central Asia are minor, in fact. Issues, related to the presence of Turkey military machine in the Balkans, the Caucasus and Crimea, are always discussed between the military and intelligence services of both countries. Turkey's position in these regions is much stronger than that in Central Asia. Only the situation in Iran, especially in its north-western regions, can be compared with Turkey positions in the above regions. In 2001, the present minister of foreign affair s of Turkey Ahmet Davutoglu published his voluminous work â€Å"Strategic depth: the international position of Turkey†, in which he analyzed the regional and geopolitical interests and priorities of Turkey; he also put forward a series of theoretical assessments and propositions. After

What is the difference between dumping and subsidies And what is to be Assignment

What is the difference between dumping and subsidies And what is to be established in every subsidy and dumping investigation - Assignment Example Some of the common subsidies may include loans at low interest rates, grants, and tax incentives. The amount of goods that have been subsidized may be offset through applying the countervailing duty (Giannakopoulos, 2004). In every subsidy and dumping investigation, it is to be established whether an industry has been injured or threatened with a material injury by the imported products. In addition, it must establish whether the industry has become materially retarded because of the imports that are under investigation which have been sold at lower prices than the fair value in the local market or subsidized. In case the investigations turn negative, the case is terminated. However, in case the investigations turn negative, the extent of injury is determined whether it is negligible (Bentley & Silberston, 2007). In case it’s not, a countervailing duty is issued and enforced by the custom Service. Bentley,  P., & Silberston,  A. (2007). Anti-dumping and countervailing action: Limits imposed by economic and legal theory. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar. Retrieved from: https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=G9hj0R3iqqMC&pg=PA2&dq=Anti-dumping+and+countervailing+action:+Limits+imposed+by+economic+and+legal+theory&hl=en&sa=X&ei=2fJvVeD8EOiX7QbKyYPoAg&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Anti-dumping%20and%20countervailing%20action%3A%20Limits%20imposed%20by%20economic%20and%20legal%20theory&f=false Giannakopoulos,  T.  K. (2004). Safeguarding companies rights in competition and anti-dumping/anti-subsidies proceedings. The Hague: Kluwer Law International. Retrieved from

Title Primary and Community Care Services need to provide Essay

Title Primary and Community Care Services need to provide comprehensive, integrated and coordinated care for individuals and their families - Essay Example In collaborative healthcare practice in the clinical setting, it can be an action dependent on opinions based on a process of reasoning that builds on academic learning. A multidisciplinary team comprises professionals from different specialities who work as a group towards care to the patient. The main reason for such a care strategy is diversity and complexity of healthcare, rapid advancement of medical specialities in terms of knowledge, technical dexterity of members of the team, enhanced client concerns about health and care, and many other intricate issues in present-day healthcare where no profession has superiority over another across the contexts of healthcare delivery plan to a patient. This is a case study of a patient, whose identity will remain undisclosed in this work for ethical and confidentiality reasons. A nickname, Mrs. Chang will be used throughout the work. This writer had an opportunity to assist in her care while she was admitted to the hospital following a tri p and fall in the shower few days back, and she was admitted to the hospital due to her age of 82, frailty, baseline neurological disorder Parkinsonism with gradually declining cognition and deteriorating mobility, and lack of support at home and community, for further assessment and evaluation. In this work, based on nursing assessment of the case, a nursing discharge plan was enacted and presented with an attempt to critically analyzing the discharge plan based on her needs and at the same time finding evidence from contemporary literature about the justification of the discharge plan in association with other professionals involved in care, coordinated so that the family can participate in the care when the patient is discharged to the community. This condition is characterized by gradual slowing of voluntary movement, muscular rigidity, stooped posture, and distinctive rigid gait. Over and above that, she has evidence of rheumatoid arthritis of both hands. She tripped and fell in the bathroom; this impairment of mobility may get accentuated with her rheumatic disease. A thorough examination of all her joints indicated osteoarthritis and associated osteoporosis, which are age related, and these would further aggravate her problem of mobility. During this admission, she was admitted since she sustained a fall at home in the bathroom, and she had been admitted to the hospital for observation and further evaluation. She had been on ibuprofen. This indicates her baseline chronic pain, which may further compromise her mobility. The impaired mobility was further accentuated by the fact that at home, she stayed with her husband who was older than her by 4 years, who himself might be frail enough to be insufficient to help her out in these activities at home. The discharge plan must include provision for the patient to maintain joint mobility and range of motion while exhibiting adaptive coping behaviour. Improvement in muscle strength and endurance would be the goal. With age, there is baseline muscle wasting from the 50-80 years of age, and this is the result of aging process in the

United Nation Peacekeeping Essay Example for Free

United Nation Peacekeeping Essay Certain degree of bias indications has to be inevitable among any group of peacekeepers despite of their altruistic intentions. Under the principles of neutrality and impartiality, even United Nation peacekeepers are entitled to experience such biased inclinations during the course of their campaigns. In order to test this hypothesis, the study reviews the acts and campaigns of the Irish peacekeepers serving with UNIFL in Lebanon from 1980 to 2002 for potential indications of biased decisions, activities and empathy, specifically towards the local Lebanese or the Jewish settlers. ii. Problem and its Background By nature, UN Peacekeeping Organization (1948) has been helping in the resolution of existing conflicts among warring countries and/or international feuds. According to Sperling and Kirchner (1997), the UN has been able to alter its image from that of an inactive to an active organization, and the considered major etiology is the agreement among the fiver permanent members of the Security Council in 1987, particularly in using the organization as an intervener of international affairs, conflict and disarmament (p. 62). One of the most significant UN peacekeeping campaigns is the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) that centers on the 1980 conflicts between Israel and Lebanon. UN Peacekeeping ambassadors have been associated to the UNFIL mandating the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanese territory to restore international peace and security in the area. Furthermore, under the UN Security Council Resolution 425, the peacekeeping campaign and UNFIL have provided extensive tasks over Lebanese territory, such as assisting the government of Lebanon in ensuring the return of its effective authority in southern Lebanon, humanitarian assistance, supplies provision (e. g. medical, food, etc. ), and others (Fleitz 2002 54). Despite of the altruistic motives of the peacekeeping organization, UNFIL has encountered tremendous rejection and feud against Israelite, which eventually worsened the UN-Israel relations. According to Pitta and McCouaig (1994), the Irish peace UN ambassadors together with other members of UNIFIL have been associated 1982 Lebanon Wars between Israeli and Palestinian terrorists (Hizballah) within Lebanon (p. 4-5). Hence, instead of becoming peace ambassadors, UNIFIL members are caught in the middle of Israeli-Palestinian feud, while their Israeli-Lebanese goal of withdrawal has become entirely complex, which eventually resulted in the damage of UN relationships among Lebanese and Israeli groups. iii. Aims of the Study The primary task of the discussion is to obtain indications illustrating bias or non-partial indicators among Irish peacekeeping forces and UNIFIL members during the campaigns on Israel-Lebanon settlements. The study examines the sides of four parties involved, (1) UNIFIL and Peacekeeping Groups, (2) Lebanese Officials and their territory, (3) Israeli soldiers and their abusive settlement within Lebanese territory, and (4) the Palestinian terrorist group. The study seeks (1) to discern biased actions or perceptions that resulted in peacekeepers (Irish; UNIFIL) empathizing with either the local Lebanese or with Jewish settlers, and (2) to determine the implications of these biased activities towards UN’s relationships among Lebanon and Israel. II. Discussion i. Overview of Peacekeeping Traces of Biased Rule (1940s to 1980s) The primary characteristic of the U. N peacekeeping operations is its role in the resolution or management of conflicts and not entirely to provide aid to any parties concerned. From the historical point of view, peacekeeping operations in the Middle East have started way backed 1948 Arab-Israeli Wars under the United Nations Truce Supervision (UNTSO). The primary task of UNTSO is to supervise both military condition and the Palestinian truce (Pitta and Mccouaig 1994 4). As supported by Kellerman, Siehr and Einhorn (1998), UNTSO’s indefinite mandate is limited to observing, reporting and investigating cease-fire violations and other border incidents in the course of supervising the implementation of the General Armistice Agreements between Israel and Arab neighbors (p. 368). At that point, the United Nations General Assembly has proposed its initial peacekeeping resolution in an effort of negotiating the disputed Jerusalem from the two parties involved – Israel and Palestinians. The offer involves the partitioning of the territory into separate Arab and Jewish states with the city of Jerusalem under the International mandate. However, the offer has been declined since the most significant sacred city, Jerusalem, cannot be placed into any others’ property aside from the Jewish nation (Kellerman, Siehr and Einhorn 1998 p. 368). According to Pitta and Mccouaig (1994), the United Kingdom possesses 1. 5 million Palestinian Arabs under the League of Nations mandate and 500,000 Jews (p. 4). After the negation of UN proposal on 14th of May 1948, the United Kingdom relinquished its mandate over Palestine, while the Israel has been proclaimed. Due to the biased support of the international nationalities among Israel, the next day (May 15) the Palestinian Arabs, together with other Arab states (Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria), attacked the United Kingdom republic. According to Hearn (1999), if the peacekeeping forces fail to uphold the requirement of impartiality, the credibility of their campaign shall be compromised, which consequently opens them to attacks (p. 10). In order to resolve the conflict, the UN Security Council has called for a cease-fire mandate under the Resolution 50 on MAY 29, 1948. According to Pitta and Mccouaig (1994), the UNTSO observers have become the primary observers of the truce of 1948 (p. 4). UNTSO has become the primary and the longest existing peacekeeping organization securing and monitoring the relationship between Israel and Palestinian groups. UNTSO observers have been attached to UNFIL groups in an effort of securing and monitoring the implementation of the 1948 Truce and cease fire mandate. However, according to Stephan (2004), UNTSO observers and other peacekeeping groups (e. g. UNIFIL, UN Security Council, etc. ) have been accused on implementing biased treatment among both Jews and Palestinian settlers. In response to the Lebanon-Israel conflict, Fleitz (2002) has reported that Israel groups are complaining against anti-Jews activities among UNTSO, UNIFIL and UN Department of Peacekeeping (p. 54). Meanwhile, according to Hahn (2004), Palestinians are complaining against the international favor (e. g. American support towards the Israelites, UNTSO’s rejection of Syrian complaints against Israel’s bridge and trenches fortifications that are considered violation against the armistice, etc. ). Considering these scenarios, accusations of being biased are being directed to almost every party involved in the Israel-Palestinian feud. ii. The 1982 Conflicts among UNIFIL and Disputants According to Fleitz (2002), UNIFIL is the most notorious example of the consequences when a traditional peacekeeping force is only partially accepted by warring parties (p. 54). Similar to the history of UNTSO, UNIFIL has been accused of having biased activities with the Lebanese party. The primary task of UNIFIL is to monitor the conditions of Israel settlement in Lebanon and facilitate its withdrawal. However, the disputants refuse to fully cooperate with the UNIFIL representatives due to the vast issues of biased activities (e. g. Israel party is accusing UNIFIL of being an anti-Israelite group, etc). According to Muller (1997), Israel has objected to the UN’s bias in Lebanon and elsewhere branding the UNIFIL organization as an instrument for their anti-Israel schemes (p. 132). Due to the past issues of Israel with Syria, Iran and other Arab Nations, the provision of support system has become very sensitive and critical to the peacekeeping strategies of UNIFIL. Israel has accused UNIFIL of supporting the Lebanese to regain the Palestinian and the rest of the Arab’s favor. Although, according to Fleitz (2002) and Nachmias (1999), Israel perceives UNIFIL as a U. N instrument in helping the Lebanese-Syrian groups against their nation. According to Gat (2003), Israel has falsely interpreted the reasons of Israeli troops’ withdrawal from Lebanon, and considered this as an aid for the Arab groups to reconstruct their settlement in the area (p. 104) Conflict between Israel and UNIFIL’s mission of Israel’s withdrawal has threatened the U. N-Israeli relations. Due to the incident, UNIFIL-Arab conflict has increased causing the decline of UNIFIL populations and death of most Irish peacekeepers. According to Said and Hitchens (2001), the Israeli Iron Fist operations against terrorist suspicion in the area of Lebanon have prevented them from leaving (p. 131). Nachmias (1999) states that UNIFIL failed in its three mandatory missions: (1) it did not induce peace, (2) it did not stop the daily carnage of Israeli soldiers and Lebanese civilians, and (3) it failed to achieve the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Lebanon. Instead of fulfilling their peacekeeping tasks, UNIFIL is caught in the middle of the Israeli-Palestinian feud within the Lebanese settlement. In 1985, the Israeli settlers in Lebanon filed their request of using Southern Lebanon as their settlement in the area. According to Fleitz (2002), the settling of Israelites within the security zones of South Lebanon has caused severe casualties on the part of UNIFIL members, specifically 83 fatalities from attacks when Israel launched a major invasion of Lebanon through UNIFIL positions (p. 55). Due to these consequent events, UNIFIL has failed its very mission of settling the feud between Israel and Lebanon. The South Lebanon Army has defied the U. N resolutions not to occupy the security zone between Israeli border and UNIFIL forces. The tensions between Israel and Lebanese civilians have grown to be very sensitive. UNIFIL, being opposed to the settlement of Israelites in the area of Southern Lebanon, has been incorporated with the targets of Israeli troops. However, during the patrol of Israelites within the streets of Lebanon, incidence of preventive gunfire against Irish peacekeeping forces has been reported, which eventually caused wide protest against Israel troops (Said and Hitchens 2001 133). Due to the aggressive military activities of Israel against Lebanese civilians (e. g. 1984 killing of 150 children in a bombed-out school at Bekaa Valley, 1985 killing of 20 people in Tripoli refugee camp, etc. ), UNIFIL has to support the local Lebanese civilians, especially the wounded.

Reflection On Care Of Surgical Drains Nursing Essay

Reflection On Care Of Surgical Drains Nursing Essay The use of drains continues to be an important aspect in the management of patients postoperatively. While drains serve an important function, they are also associated with complications such as haemorrhage, tissue inflammation, retrograde bacterial migration, and drain entrapment (Walker 2007). It is therefore very essential for nurses to provide adequate monitoring and care of surgical drains and provide measures to ensure prevention of complications from arising. While working in the surgical ward, I have been exposed to patients with surgical drains. This reality pushed me to know more about surgical drains and to gain more competence in the management of these patients. In this essay, I would be reflecting on my experiences as I worked to achieve my learning outcome of becoming proficient with surgical drains. I would be utilising Gibbs (1988) model of reflection which consists of 6 stages, namely: description, feelings, evaluation, analysis, conclusion and action plan. DESCRIPTION In the past, I have been exposed to patients in the surgical intensive care unit with surgical drains. I have known how to monitor care for the drains and have seen the surgeons remove these drains. But, I have never tried removing surgical drains before. Only surgeons and surgical resident doctors were allowed to remove drains in the country where I have trained before. Thus, when I started my adaptation program in the surgical ward, I was impressed with how skilful the nurses are with surgical drain removal. This gave me the urge to become proficient with the care of drains. During the first week of the adaptation program, I started my quest for knowledge by doing a literature review about the indications, importance of drains, the different types and the risks complications involved with drains. I gathered information from my mentor about the hospitals protocol and procedures for the care of drains as well as the different surgeons preferences in the care of their patients drains. It was then that I found out that surgeons always prefer the drains of orthopaedic patients (hip and knee replacements) to be taken out after 24 hours. As cited by Tucci, et al (2005), closed suction drainage systems are commonly used in orthopaedic surgery, the rationale for its use is to theoretically reduce wound haematoma and infection. Knowing that I was already well equipped with knowledge, I then focused on enhancing my skills in this aspect. I worked hand in hand with my mentor as I observed how she monitored, re-vacuumed, and removed the drains. I observed the techniques and principles that she utilised and noted the different materials needed for each procedure. FEELINGS When I already felt ready to remove the drain for the first time, I was feeling a little bit anxious that I would do something wrong especially that my mentor would be supervising me as I perform the procedure. I knew that time that I was well prepared knowledge wise and I exactly knew what I was about to do, but there is always that feeling of nervousness when you do something for the first time. My anxiety was lessened when my mentor reassured me as she told me not to worry as she will guide me all throughout the procedure. I had all the materials ready and was all geared up with personal protective devices. After obtaining informed consent from the patient, I removed the drain without any difficulty while making sure that aseptic technique was observed. Aseptic technique is very important to prevent surgical site infections. According to the NICE guidelines (2008), the development of an SSI depends on contamination of the wound site at the end of a surgical procedure and specifically relates to the pathogenicity and inoculum of microorganisms present, balanced against the hosts immune response. Thus, proper hand washing and maintaining sterility are very important when handling drains. Aside from removing drains, I have gained more confidence in re-vacuuming drains, monitoring drainage output, documenting and watching out for complications. While taking care of these patients, I ensured that complications are prevented by providing health teachings about hygiene, proper hand washing, measures to prevent complications and early detection of any complications. EVALUATION With the entire learning process, I was able to achieve my goal of attaining positive learning outcomes. I had been more proficient with handling surgical drains. I have improved my knowledge and shared these with my patients for them to have a safe recovery. I had been very keen with minimising complications and had been more watchful of the danger signs. I have known and practiced infection control by heart as well. There was one negative incident that occurred during my adaptation experience. This incident made me more cautious whenever I took care of patients with drains. We had a patient who underwent a major breast operation who had four astra drains in situ. She developed a haematoma during our shift because of the fact that all of her drains were all clamped from the previous shift. The surgeon himself discovered the nurses error and noticed the haematoma as well. He was not happy with what happened and told us to be very cautious with his patients drains. We made an investigation and found out that the nurse who re-vacuumed the drains from the previous shift failed to unclamp the drains. We made an incident report and informed the ward sister about the incident. We regularly monitored the patients haematoma and regularly massaged the affected area. ANALYSIS This incident made me realise how quickly complications arise when a single error is done. It taught me to be more cautious when re-vacuuming drains. Ever since that incident occurred, I always double check that all the drains are unclamped and patent before leaving the patients rooms. I always check the wound drain site for any haematoma or other unusualities as well. CONCLUSION Although it was not my error that the drains were clamped, I could still say that I do have a fault in that incident. If I could have checked the drains and the wound initially at the start of the shift, that haematoma might not have occurred or if not, be minimised. I was too busy taking care of other postoperative patients and kept saying to myself during that time that I would check the drains the wound after I am settled with the other patients. If I could have managed my time well and spared a little of my time to assess that patient, the incident might not have occurred. This incident served as a lesson for me the other staff nurses in the surgical ward and taught us the importance of drains thus, they should not be taken for granted. ACTION PLAN Based on this entire experience, I plan to widen my knowledge about surgical drains by doing more research work about other types of surgical drains that I am not familiar with to enhance my knowledge and to be prepared when the time comes that I would come across these types of drains. I also intend to be always updated with my knowledge by reading recent articles from journals or other sources and grab any opportunity of attending seminars/ trainings for continuing professional development.

New Generation of a Mobile Primary Frequency Standard

New Generation of a Mobile Primary Frequency Standard New generation of a mobile primary frequency standard based on cold atoms S T Mà ¼ller 1, J de Martin Jà ºnior 1, R D Pechoneri 1, P Santa Catharina1, V S Bagnato2 and D V Magalhà £es1 Abstract. We have constructed a mobile primary frequency standard using intra-cavity cold cesium atoms and the first results shown the advantages of using this kind of system compared to cesium beam standards. Based on an expanding cloud of atoms, it has no stringent size limitations and one can imagine the possibility of a clock even more compact. In order to assemble a new system even smaller, we are developing a system containing lasers, microwave source and cavity in a single box. The mobile atomic standard based on cold atoms is an important contribution to a primary standard of high relevance, and a possible strategic product with a broad range of applications. Introduction With exceptional accuracy, atomic clocks have applications in several fields of modern fundamental physics [1]. They allow not only to investigate the macroscopic scales theories like relativity or gravitation, but also to know better the microscopic world, in atomic scale, thanks to quantum mechanics. Two of the main applications are navigation and telecommunication systems, and atomic references are the heart of the most advanced navigation system, satellite constellations positioning like GPS, GLONASS, and Beidou [2]. Most of the high performance time standards require an extremely complex construction and operation, but the size of these systems makes them incompatible with some applications, which require a compromise between size and performance. These include space and industrial applications, such as telecommunication lines, mobile telephone networks or internet, calibration of instruments, dissemination of local time references with good quality, etc. The Atomic Time and frequency Standard Program under development at USP Sà £o Carlos [3] has two main atomic frequency standards being developed, an atomic fountain [4] and a system based in a cold atomic cloud in free expansion [5]. Besides those experimental standards, our facility has commercial atomic clocks and a hydrogen maser. The theoretical and experimental knowledge acquired with these standards are now employed in the development of a mobile atomic frequency standard, which should maintain the same level of stability and accuracy of the experimental setups. To ensure the mobility of the system, new diode laser sources, microwave synthesizer, vacuum and control systems are being redesigned. Experimental setup and temporal sequence The aim of this project is the construction of a cold atoms compact frequency standard that works in an innovative way, since the steps of the sequence occur in the same place, within a microwave cavity. For the physical package we use a cylindrical cavity, sculpted in a stainless steel vacuum chamber and resonant in 9.2 GHz. This operation mode allows us to design a much more compact system than a conventional cold atoms clock, where the various interactions are in different parts of the instrument. Therefore, the compactness of the clock is achieved through a sequence purely temporal. The most relevant steps can be seen in Figure 1. The temporal sequence of the compact frequency standard can be divided in four well defined steps (see figure 1), as follows: (Step 1)Trapping atoms in a magneto optical trap (MOT) In this stage is possible to capture 108 atoms using magnetic field and three counter-propagating pairs of laser beams (MOT) [6]. This is important to catch up the atoms together in the same spatial region, forming a cold cloud, and to remove a huge portion of the cloud’s kinetic energy. In this step the atomic cloud attains very low temperatures and becomes more stable. The cycling transition is used, and repumping is done using the transition. (Step 2)Sub-Doppler Cooling and the Preparation After the first reduction of the kinetic energy, the system passes from MOT configuration to optical molasses by switching off the current supply of the magnetic field. Simultaneously, the atomic cloud is cooled even more, changing the intensity and detuning of the laser beams with acousto-optical modulators, reaching levels below 10 ÃŽ ¼K. In order to prepare the atoms in their ground electronic state , the repumping light is switched off 5 ms before shutting off the cooling light. During this interval, optical pumping efficiently transfers the atoms to the required ground state. (Step 3) The clock transition interrogation Now, the cold atoms are in a single initial state and after the total shutdown of the lasers beams, the cloud starts a free expansion. During the expansion the atoms are interrogated in a Ramsey sequence [7], consisting of two coherent microwave pulses with 1ms of duration and separated by 8ms. These pulses excite the clock transition between the two hyperfine levels . (Step 4) The Detection To detect the atoms that have transitioned to the level after the two microwave pulses, the light beams originally used as a cooling laser are turned back on for 40 ms, and the fluorescence signal is collected. Once the resonance is observed, it can be used as a frequency discriminator. The transition probability difference of two successive measurement acts as an error signal used to control the local oscillator frequency. Results Figure 2 presents a typical scan of the microwave frequency across the clock resonance in our device [5]. Using the Ramsey fringe of Figure 2, we can scan around the central fringe to determine the linewidth with a theoretical fitting (Figure 3), obtaining a value of 47 Hz. The contrast is better than 80% (where the contrast is defined as a difference between resonance amplitude and background). To measure the frequency stability of the system is necessary to lock the central resonance observed on figure 3 to the microwave chain (macroscopic oscillator). The microwave chain on the other hand is phase locked to the 5 MHz output of the Hydrogen Maser. The modulation of the frequency is controlled by a computer, which also register the introduced correction to keep the interrogation signal at its maximum. The stability observed is , as presented in Figure 4, demonstrating that this compact cold atom frequency standard can reach performances better than commercial beam clocks, which typically have short time stabilities on the range of 10-11 10-12. The advantage of cold atoms in such compact system can be easily observed if compared with commercial thermal Cs beam clocks. The long term stability already surpasses the currently used commercial standards and the clock transition linewidth is on the order of 50 Hz for our system, meanwhile the same resolution can be achieved only with a thermal system that has some meters in the interrogation region (26 Hz for a 4 m long interrogation region [8]). [GMD1] Reducing the system volume We actually envisage a more compact system, mounting the apparatus in a single block. This should be done keeping all the necessary processes to produce a frequency standard signal. 4.1. The macroscopic oscillator A fundamental piece of the atomic standard, it corresponds to the signal that generates the time reference. The feedback from the atoms interrogated with its signal closes the loop for the atomic frequency reference. It should be as small as possible, but still taking into account some parameters as temperature deviations [9, 10]. To achieve reliable performance, we will use PID (Proportional-Integral-Derivative) control and peltier elements as actuators. 4.2. Lasers Diode The use of laser diodes is fundamental in the system. They should keep a very low effective linewidth, in order to not degrade the SNR of the clock transition. In the limit of high resolution spectroscopy, the laser noise can add a significant parcel to the overall budget of noise contributions. 4.3. General Control of the System Careful control of all the steps of the clockwork (trap, sub-doppler cooling, interrogation and detection) is mandatory. In each cycle the microwave source is corrected, and the steps consist of well synchronized events, such as laser light frequency shifts, pulsing of the microwave signal, triggered signal detection and processing of the atomic fluorescence [11]. Conclusions We have developed a compact system to be used as a mobile reference for frequency signals. We managed to cool 108 atoms at 10 ÃŽ ¼K in a microwave cavity and after the Ramsey interrogation the detection by fluorescence is applied. The core idea is the use of cold atoms as a high performance and reliable clock source. We have been working in the reduction of volume to make an embeddable prototype, in order to maintain the high quality characteristics necessary for the operation of such device. References Jespersen J and Fitz-Randolph J 1999 From sundials to atomic clocks (Mineola: Dover Publications) Ramsey N F 2002 Application of atomic clocks in: Laser physics at the limits, ed Figger H. et al (Berlin: Springer) p 3 Ahmed M, Magalhà £es D V, Bebeachibuli A, Mà ¼ller S T, Alves R F, Ortega T A, Weiner J and Bagnato V S 2008 The brazilian time and frequency atomic standards program An Acad Bras Cienc 80, 2 Magalhà £es D V 2004 Construà §Ãƒ £o de uma fountain atà ´mica para utilizaà §Ãƒ £o como padrà £o primà ¡rio de tempo Doctorade thesis Mà ¼ller S T, Magalhà £es D V, Alves R F and Bagnato V S 2011 Compact Frequency Standard based on an Intracavity Sample of Cold Cesium AtomsJ. Opt. Soc. Am. B 28 11 p 2592 Metcalf H and Van Der Straten P 2003 Laser cooling and trapping of atoms J.Opt. Soc. Am. B 20 p 887 Vanier J, Audoin C 1989 The quantum physics of atomic frequency standards v2 (Adam Hilger) Glaze D J, Hellwig H, Allan D W and S. Jarvis 1977 NBS-4 and NBS-6: The NBS primary frequency standards Metrologia 13 p 17-28 L. E. Schnurr 1967 The transient thermal characteristics of quartz resonators and their relation to temperature-frequency curve distortion 21st Annual Symposium on Frequency Control (1967) Ji Wang, Yook-Kong Yong and Tsutomu Imai 1998 High-order plate theory based finite element analysis of the frequency-temperature relations of quartz crystal oscillators Frequency Control Symposium Proceedings of the 1998 IEEE International (1998) J. Levine 1999 Introduction to time and frequency metrology Review of scientific instruments 70, 6 [GMD1]

New Learning Strategies for Generation X Essay -- Education Careers Es

New Learning Strategies for Generation X Generation X workers resent the labels that have been used to describe them: slackers, arrogant, disloyal, having short attention spans. In fact, these descriptions are less likely to reflect the behaviors of individuals in Generation X than the perceptions of managers who are not attuned to new ways of learning. This Digest investigates ways in which the learning characteristics of the young adults classified as Generation X reflect the need for the new teaching and learning strategies promoted by cognitive scientists, such as learning in context, cooperative learning, and real-world application of knowledge. The Life Experience Gap The gap between Generation X and earlier generations represents much more than age and technological differences. It reflects the effects of a changing society on a generation. Young adults born between 1961 and 1981 have radically different life experiences than those in generations before them. In their youth, many Generation Xers were "latchkey kids"--children who saw both of their parents working and/or furthering their education. Many of them were raised in single parent homes, the children of divorced parents. They grew up with "fast" food; "remote control" entertainment; and "quick response" devices such as automatic teller machines and microwave ovens, all of which provided instant gratification. As young adults, Generation Xers find themselves facing limited economic prospects and a society different from any preceeding them. The previous generation saw rapid economic growth and expanding opportunities. Generation Xers see corporate downsizing and layoffs, limited opportunities for career positions, and an economically troubled socie... ..., p. 1. <http://www.physics.wisc.edu/~shalizi/Generation-x_Articles/brinkley/> Caudron, S. "Can Generation Xers be Trained?" Training and Development 51, no. 3 (March 1997): 20-24. Hornblower, M. "Great Xpectations." Time 129, no. 23 (June 9, 1997): 58-68. Losyk, B. "How to Manage an Xer." Current 392 (May 1997): 12 Newmann, F. M. et al. "Authentic Pedagogy: Standards that Boost Student Performance." Issues in Restructuring Schools. Issues Report No. 8. Madison, WI: Center on Organization and Restructuring of Schools, 1995. (ED 390 906) Sachs, P. Generation X Goes to College. An Eye-Opening Account of Teaching in Post- modern America. Chicago, IL: Open Court Publishing Company, 1996. Wagschal, K. "I Became Clueless Teaching the GenXers." Adult Learning 8, no. 4 (March 1997): 21-25. "Your Life." USA Today 125, no. 2622 (March 1997): 6.

Victor is the True Villain of Frankenstein Essay -- Mary Shelley

At first glance, the monster in Frankenstein is a symbol of evil, whose only desire is to ruin lives. He has been called "A creature that wreaks havoc by destroying innocent lives often without remorse. He can be viewed as the antagonist, the element Victor must overcome to restore balance and tranquility to the world." But after the novel is looked at on different levels, one becomes aware that the creature wasn't responsible for his actions, and was just a victim of circumstance. The real villain of Frankenstein isn't the creature, but rather his creator, Victor. As a romantic novel Victor is responsible, because he abandoned his creation. As an archetype novel, Victor is the villain, because he was trying to play god. Finally, Victor as a Gothic novel, Victor is at fault, because, he and the creature are two different parts of the same person. If Frankenstein is looked at as a romantic novel, Victor, not the creature, is truly the villain. When Victor created the creature, he didn't take responsibility for it. He abandoned it, and left it to fend for itself. It is unfair to bring something into the world, and then not teach it how to survive. The creature was miserable, and just wanted a friend or someone to talk to. On page 115, the creature said, "Hateful day when I received life! Accursed the creator. Why did you form a monster so hideous that even you turned from me in disgust." This line shows the agony the monster was in, because of how he looked when he was created which led to even Victor running away from him. If Victor didn't run, he could have taught the monster and made his life happy. After the creature scared the cottagers away he said, "I continued for the remainder of the day in my hovel in a state of utter ... ...three different symbolic levels, as a Romantic novel, Archetype novel, or a Gothic novel. On the romantic level, Victor is the villain because he abandons the creature and leaves it to fend for itself. The creature is miserable and just wants a friend, but was abandoned by Victor making it almost impossible. On the Archetype level, Victor is the villain because he tries to play god. He wants to be worshipped like a god, by creating his own species, and creating life from plain matter. But in doing so, Victor disturbed the natural order of things. Finally, Victor is the villain on the Gothic level. There he is the villain, because he and the creature are part of a greater being, and Victor's subconscious wants William and Elizabeth dead, which is why the monster kills them. Despite the fact that Victor didn't physically murder anyone, he was the villain of the novel.

Symbols and Symbolism in The Great Gatsby Essay -- Great Gatsby Essays

Symbolism in The Great Gatsby       Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby has more relevance in today’s society than it did when it was written. With the recent societal trend that emphasizes lack of morals and material wealth over a meaningful existence, Fitzgerald’s message really hits home. Which is more important - money or love? Social status or being true to oneself? Fitzgerald uses metaphor and symbols to great effect in order to illustrate what can happen when the pursuit of happiness becomes warped (by American ideals) into the pursuit of money.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One of the major symbols in the novel is the color green. Green represents the hopes and dreams of people striving to accomplish the American dream of wealth and glory. Green is the color of money and is often used to purvey the concept of wealth, especially with reference to Gatsby. Whenever Gatsby's mansion is described there is always mention of the color green. His house is surrounded by "a large green lawn" or the "green ivy" which grows on his house. The interior of his car is described as "a sort of green leather conservatory" ... ...arning and take a second look to determine what is truly fulfilling in life. Works Cited Bewley, Marius. "Scott Fitzgerald's Criticism of America." In Modern Critical Interpretations: The Great Gatsby. edited by Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers. 1986. 11-27. Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Scribner Classic, 1986. McAdams, Tony. "The Great Gatsby: An Examination of Metaphor and Symbolism." In Readings on The Great Gatsby. edited by Katie de Koster. San Diego, California: Greenhaven Press. 1998. 111-120.

Muay Thai Essay

Muay Thai is originally come from Thailand. It is form of kickboxing but Muay Thai employs techniques with the hands, feet, elbows, and knees extensively. Muay Thai is popular in many parts of the world these days. People involves in Muay Thai usually to test their self confidence, speed, strength and self defense. Reveal the Topic -Today, I am going to share on the basic training of Muay Thai. Establish Credibility Currently, I trained with Muay Thai Club in Shah Alam. I started training on age of 18. On 2009 while doing my diploma, I joined ‘Muay Thai Competition, in Maran, Pahang and I won the first place. Preview of Body Speech The 3 basic training of Muay Thai is built up physical strength, use of punching bag and sparring. Body 1 Build up physical strength -First of all, trainees must play rope jumping around 15minutes to 30 minutes to warm up. For the purpose maintaining stamina, he/she need to jogging 5km to 10km per day. This also can control weight to make sure trainees in their weight class. For example weight class is 56kg to 60kg, so the trainees must around this weight. For fit physical body, trainees must weight-lifted to get muscular. It brings a psychological to opponent. For me, advantages on physical structure boost my confident. 2 Punching bag -When play with the punching bag, trainees must imagine the punching bag as a opponent. They need have a certain level of strength, conditioning, and skill to punches, kicks, knees and elbow strike the punching bag. Punch combination, speed, timing, punching defense, counter-punching. They need learn about angle to attack and strength. 3 Sparring – Trainees probably looking forward to get in the ring, but before to get in the ring they must have an experience sparring to know the situation in the ring. Usually the instructor asks him to wearing the thick pads which cover the forearms and hands. This pads are used to absorbs the impact of the fighter’s strike and allow to react to the attacks. Sparring is to test technique, skills, range, strategy and timing against partner Conclusion Everything you do have a risks,also muay thai but these risks only apply to fighters who are lazy in their moves or who are just not very well trained. If you follow all your lessons to the letter and keep in good shape, the risks don’t really become a factor.

Consider the theme in Of mice and men Essay

* The book Of Mice and Men was set in the time of the great depression of the 1930’s in California in a place called Soledad. Men travelled around looking for any work they could find, they had to leave families and homes just to make money. Even firms and companies went bankrupt, these were depressing and desperate times, no hope and no future. * During this period of time there was a depression in America. Unemployment was high, so men moved from ranch to ranch looking for work, never staying in one place long enough to firm any real relationships, so this was a very lonely existence. * John Steinbeck’s inspiration from came from him at an earlier age working as a migrant farm worker and so he understood completely about the conditions and life around him so he could really create an atmospheric story. * It is based on two men, George and Lennie, who travelled from ranch to ranch. George is a small and fairly intelligent man while Lennie is a large man of very little intelligence. They had travelled together for a long time. * In my opinion, the most obvious point made throughout the book about the world of migrant workers is that it is lonely. George tells that â€Å"†¦guys like us†¦are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . This is also shown when Slim comments that he â€Å"†¦hardly never seen two guys travel together†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Most migrant workers travel on their own and this is why George and Lennie face some fairly intrusive questions from their new boss when they first arrive at the ranch. This boss even finds it so unusual that he asks George, referring to Lennie, â€Å"†¦what stake you got in this guy?†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . He also again refers to this being unusual by saying â€Å"†¦I never seen one guy take so much trouble for another guy†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . * They are many characters in the novel that are also lonely and this is due to sexism, ageism, but mainly racism. One perfect example is Crooks†¦Crooks, the black stable buck is forever being picked on by the other men at the ranch, mostly because of his colour. In the time in which the book was set, black people in America were thought of as lower than white people. At the ranch, Crooks cannot live in the bunk – house with all the other men, but he has to sleep in the harness room, at the back of the barn. Crooks is given no privacy, and gets quite cross because he is not allowed to enter the bunk-house but the other men can just walk into his room. In the book he says to Lennie, â€Å"You’ve no right to come into my room, nobody got any right in here but me.† * Another reason is because of your age. Candy is lonely because he is old, and is different from the other hands. His only comfort is his old dog, which keeps him company and reminds him of days when he was young and whole.He has no relatives, and once his dog is killed is totally alone. He eagerly clutches at the idea of buying a farm with George and Lennie, but of course this all comes to nothing.Candy’s disappointment is expressed in the bitter words he utters to the body of Curley’s wife, whom he blames for spoiling his dream. Paragraph 1 * George is a kind man. He travels with Lennie and helps him to survive although Lennie is more of a burden than a help, and creates many problems for him. He is also friendly, and almost immediately makes friends with Candy, Carlson, Slim, and the other ranch hands.He has matured a lot since the incident he relates to Slim where he made Lennie jump into a river just for fun. He realises that Lennie depends on him, and needs him to survive.George often insults Lennie and ‘gives him hell’, but he doesn’t really mean it. Although he often talks about how well off he could be without Lennie he secretly doesn’t want Lennie to leave, and when Lennie offers to do so in the first chapter, George virtually pleads with him to stay, ‘ Ive got you an you’ve got me’. This is because George also depends on Lennie to a certain extent for his unconditional friendship. George is intelligent, as Slim points out in chapter three, but also modest in denying being smart. He expresses his desire to be different from other ranch hands who merely work for a month and then spend all of their money, but also realistically realises that his dream of owning a house with Lennie (or anyone else) is unlikely to ever come true. Overall, George is an intelligent and kind character. He is thoughtful enough to realise that the best thing for Lennie is to shoot him, for the alternatives are even worse, and compassionate enough to kill Lennie himself. * Lennie is a massive, extremely strong man, who has no living relatives. He travels about the country searching for work with his companion, George. Lennie’s Aunt Clara had asked George to take care of Lennie if she ever died. The most obvious feature of Lennie’s character is that he seems retarded. He is a man who has the mind of a child. Slim is one of the first characters to notice this, remarking that Lennie is ‘Jes’ like a kid’ and Curley’s wife also comments on how he is ‘Jus’ like a big baby’. Lennie doesn’t know his own strength, and this is one of the things which lead to his eventual downfall. He realises that he is, ‘strong as a bull’, but he can’t judge how much force to use for certain actions. That is why he kills his pets, when he only intends to pet them and play with them. It is this inability to judge his strength, combined with his desire to pet things and Curley’s wife’s desire to be petted and admired which leads to Lennie’s inevitable death. The ability to judge one’s own strength is one of the first signs of maturity, and it is important that Lennie doesn’t have this ability. Despite the major flaws in his character he is amiable and ‘friendly ‘, and doesn’t do any of the bad things he does on purpose.He has a poor memory, and has to repeat things to himself many times to remember them. Even then, he still forgets them. He has a blind faith in George, trusting in him to protect and look after his welfare. For example, remember the incident George describes to Slim when he told Lennie to â€Å"jump in the river† and Lennie obeyed, without a thought to his own well being. This illustrates Lennie’s trust in George, and also his immaturity.However, it must be noted that Lennie can still be quite crafty, as when he cunningly persuades George to tell him the story about the rabbits by threatening to leave him. Paragraph 2 * Because of Lennie’s handicap George has established a personality around his companion to make it easier to live around him. George has found a way of coping with Lennie which is to shout at him†¦. † God a’ mighty, if I was alone I could live so easy.† He supports him in the way he needs although when he is angry he does criticize him â€Å"As dum as a horse†. * George thinks of Lennie as a companion as he doesn’t have any family. On the other hand he finds him as a pain. Lennie feel the same way to a certain extent but also fears George as he is in control and orders and protects Lennie. They travel together searching for work on ranches and so never settle, and so don’t establish true friendships with others, but since they have each other they seem secure, but Lennie gets into a lot of trouble and so needs George so really George doesn’t have time for himself, which is why they do almost everything together. * Others see this relationship as different:- Slim comments † Aint many guys travel around toghther†¦.Maybe ever’body in the whole damn world is scared of each other†. George and Lennie are different as Lennie says † I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you† * Dreams are significant when considering how these men as one of the ways in which the characters combat the loneliness and hopelessness of their existence. For example the â€Å"dream farm†, a dream shared at first only by George and Lennie, later spreads to include Candy and Crooks, as they are all desperate to escape their lonely lives Crooks reveals that it is the favourite dream of the itinerant ranch hands: ‘Seems like ever’ guy got land in his head.’ It is a powerful dream, however, and even Crooks falls for this, for a short time.To Lennie, the dream is a cure for â€Å"disappointment and loneliness†, and he often asks George to recite the description of the farm to him. Paragraph 4 * Crooks is an even lonelier character than Candy, because not only is he old and a cripple, like Candy, but he is also black. Most of the men have a lot of prejudice against Crooks, referring to him with derogatory terms such as â€Å"nigger†. (Prejudice around slavery wasn’t rare) * He lives in the shed at the other end of the ranch, isolated from the rest of the workers there. * Crooks is a victim. We are told by Candy that the Boss takes his anger out on Crooks, though Crooks does nothing wrong. * Crooks spends his time alone reading and is a fairly knowledgeable person, as he owns a copy of the California civil code for 1905 He also plays horseshoes until dark. This shows us that Crooks is interested in reading as is most likely one of the smartest of the crowd. This also suggests that he has found reading as an â€Å"escape route† from the ‘terrible world’ around him. * Crooks reveals that it is the favourite dream of the itinerant ranch hands: * As a result of the discrimination against him, Crooks has become bitter and cynical. This is why when Lennie and Candy tell him about their plan to buy a house he reacts with scorn and disbelief. ‘Seems like ever’ guy got land in his head.’ It is a powerful dream, however, and even the cynical Crooks falls under its spell for a short time. Paragraph 5 * Curley’s wife is described as having full rouged lips and wide spaced eyes, heavily made up. Her fingernails painted and her hair hung in little rolled clusters. * Most of the ranch hands except for Slim brand Curley’s wife as ‘tart’. In fact, she is portrayed as such whenever she appears, obviously playing up to and teasing the men. We can definitely say that she is lonely. John Steinbeck illustrates how lonely Curleys wife is when she says † I never get to talk to nobody. I get awful lonely† She says so several times, and that is to be expected since she is stuck on a ranch with men who dislike her and rarely talk to her, as they fear getting into any sort of trouble with her husband Curley, ‘stay away from her’. However, she attempts to overcome her loneliness in the wrong way. George immediately realises that she means trouble when she first turns up in the bunkhouse, and it is hardly surprising that her actions lead her new husband to be fiercely jealous. She is so cruel because of her unhappiness, her isolation and the failure of her dreams. She dreamt of being â€Å"in the movies† or even in a â€Å"show†. She is disappointed and marries Curley to spite her mother only to find out â€Å"he aint a nice fella†. She wishes she could have made something of her life. She walks around the ranch, dressed inappropriately and seductively. and she has only been married a couple of weeks. She admits to Lennie that she doesn’t like her husband and regrets marrying him. She seems to be of limited intelligence, as this shows her how desperate she is to escape. It is partly her desire to be petted and admired which leads her to allow Lennie to stroke her hair, which in turn leads to her death at Lennie’s hands. She is only ever known as ‘Curley’s wife’ which indicates that the author viewed her as a possession of Curley’s rather than a human being. I pity her as she made a mistake into leading herself into these problems with Curley and this is making her bored ill. Paragraph 6 * The next afternoon, Lennie is in the barn. All of the other men are outside playing a game of horseshoes, and Lennie’s only company is his dead puppy. Lennie had accidentally killed it. He fears that George will not let him tend and feed the rabbits if George knows that he killed the puppy. While Lennie wonders what to do, Curley’s wife appears. She tries to get Lennie to talk to her, but Lennie is reluctant, since George had threatened to forbid him from tending his rabbits if Lennie ever did so. When she directs Lennie’s attention to his puppy, though, Lennie forgets about not talking to her. He explains everything to her. Curley’s wife listens sympathetically, and she tells Lennie about her aspirations of being an actress, and how she believes her mother deliberately thwarted her plans. She becomes angered by Lennie’s continual references to rabbits, and asks him what his attraction to them is. Lennie explains that he likes to touch and pet soft things, like rabbit fur. * Curley’s wife allows Lennie to stroke her hair, but panics when he won’t let go. She begins to struggle and scream, and Lennie, also in a state of panic, shakes her to make her stop saying, ‘ I don’t want you to yell. You gonna get me in trouble jus’ like George says you will’, and he covered her rouged lipped mouth with his large palms. She continued to scream and struggle and now the fully nervous Lennie shouted angrily at her, ‘ Don’t you go yellin’ , and shook her; and her body flopped like a fish ‘he shakes her so violently that her neck broke and she died instantly. Lennie knows that he has done another bad thing and remembers that George told him to go and hide in the brush down by the river, so he quickly runs there. Sometime later, Candy enters the barn and discovers the body of Curley’s wife. He runs and fetches George. George realises what has happened, and says that he has to tell the others. Candy protests, rightly pointing out that Curley would deliver no mercy to anyone who had killed his wife. Candy is in favour of letting Lennie escape. He asks George if it is still possible to buy the house, but his dreams are shattered when George says it isn’t. When George tells the labourers the news, they all go into a frenzy, and seem affected by blood lust. Curley is furious and vows to kill Lennie. Carlson rushes off to get his gun, and even Whit wants to join in the hunt. Carlson reports that his gun has been stolen, and everyone thinks that Lennie is responsible. George begs Curley to have mercy on his companion, but Curley says he can’t because Lennie has a gun. All of the men run off except for Candy, who lies down in despair. * The relationship between George, Lennie and Candy was now destroyed. * This relates to the â€Å"theme of dreams† as they couldn’t get their own place and so their dream had crumbled as well. Paragraph 7 * Loneliness affects many of the characters, and Steinbeck seems to show that it is a natural and inevitable result of the kind of life they are forced to lead. The itinerant workers are caught in a trap of loneliness – they never stay in one place long enough to form permanent relationships. Even if such relationships existed, they would probably be destroyed by the demands of the itinerant life. Candy is lonely because he is old, and is different from the other hands. His only comfort is his old dog, which keeps him company and reminds him of days when he was young and whole. He has no relatives, and once his dog is killed is totally alone. He eagerly clutches at the idea of buying a farm with George and Lennie, but of course this all comes to nothing. Candy’s disappointment is expressed in the bitter words he utters to the body of Curley’s wife, whom he blames for spoiling his dream. George is also caught in the trap of loneliness. Just as Candy has his dog for company, George has Lennie (who is often described in animal-like terms). Continuing the parallel, George too is left completely alone when Lennie is killed. The dream farm is his idea, and he says ‘We’d belong there †¦ no more runnin’ around the country†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢. Another lonely character is Curley’s wife. Newly married and in a strange place, she is forbidden by Curley to talk to anyone but him. To counter this, she constantly approaches the ranch hands on the excuse of looking for Curley. The only result is that the men regard her as a slut, and Curley becomes even more intensely jealous. Finally, her loneliness leads to her death as she makes the ‘ serious error of trying to overcome it by playing the tease with Lennie. Curley himself is lonely. His new wife hates him as do all the ranch hands who despise him for his cowardice. He has married in an attempt to overcome his loneliness, but has blindly chosen a wife totally inappropriate for the kind of life he leads. His feelings are all channelled into aggressive behaviour which further isolates his wife and leads to the incident with Lennie where his hand is crushed. Crooks is another who is isolated because he is different. He copes with it by keeping a distance between himself and the other hands. When he does allow himself to be drawn into the dream of working on George and Lennie’s dream farm, he is immediately shut out by George’s anger. * The conclusion, in my opinion is that people are brought together though loneliness and separated as they grow hostile (Crooks). It is like an endless game which has to be played by someone before someone gets eager and makes it worse by instigating. This is fate†¦what will happen will happen†¦. Just like a game †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. someone always wins†¦..and someone always loses†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..!