Book Napoleon’s Buttons by Penny le Couteur and Jay...

The book, Napoleon’s Buttons, gets its name from an event that happened with the French leader, Napoleon Bonaparte. The authors of the book, Penny le Couteur and Jay Burreson, found it interesting that there could be a possibility of there being a link between the death of the French soldiers during the 1812 winter war and the fact that their coat buttons were made of tin because tin behaves differently when temperatures drop. That propelled Couteur and Burreson to write this book. The book talks about seventeen molecules that changed history. These molecules range from being used in food that people consume, in the form of salt to clothes that people wear in the form of dyes. Various fields where these chemical molecules play an important role have been covered and they include the biological as well as biochemical industries. The focus of this book review would be on the use of these chemical molecules in the line of medicine. Medicine is interconnected with our lives to such an extent that we cannot do without them nor their effects, hence this is the focus of this book review. Medicinal herbs were used to cure an array of illnesses such as wounds and helped in relieving pain. However, the effectiveness of such herbs were limited because they could not help in curing infections. Infections were a main reason behind the deaths of people in the past because once a person was infected, there was no way to deal with that infection and cure it. That is how thousands of

Bruce Tuckman and Michael Argyle free essay sample

Theories of communication Bruce Tuckman Bruce Tuckman has a theory which contains of four stages; these are forming, storming, norming and performing. His theory is about group development. The first stage is forming, this is when a group is reliant on one particular leader, if the leader is not there and someone else tries to take charge then the confusion starts. The leader makes sure every individual is aware of their role, if the leader does not make them aware, then their roles and responsibilities are unclear. For example in a class room everyone will be speaking to each other, when the teacher comes in and tells everyone to settle down then they will do so. The second stage is storming, at this stage everyone hasn’t settled into a task, they are all busy chatting amongst their selves and deciding who should be in charge. Decisions don’t come easily within a group it takes some time to come to an agreement. We will write a custom essay sample on Bruce Tuckman and Michael Argyle or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page You start to form your own cliques and groups. People in the group may challenge each other in order to come out on top. Being focused it top priority for every individual, concentrating on achieving their goals and not being distracted by relationships and emotional issues, to enable progress to be made you may have to compromise within the group members. The third stage is Norming, this is when all members of the group have come to agreement on their roles and have accepted their individual responsibilities. Big decisions are made amongst group agreement were as minor decisions may be given to individuals or small groups within the whole group. Within the group commitment is getting stronger and unity is made everyone has a clear picture of what is happening. Now all the problems are over fun and social activates can now take place within the group and the leader has now earned every members respect and trust. The last stage is performing, the team is more strategically aware; the team members know what they are doing and why they are doing so, the team no longer need the leader to interfere as they are capable of standing on their own two feet. Individuals will make decisions for themselves however the leader will have some agreement, some disagreements may still occur however are quickly resolved amongst the group positively and the necessary changes can be made. The team is able to work towards achieving the target goal, and also to attend to relationship, style and process issues along the way. Team members look after each other and work progressively without assistance from the leader except for personal and interpersonal development. Michael Argyle Michael Argyle’s communication cycle has six stages. The concept of a ‘communication cycle’ makes it clear that, in order to have effective communication, it must be a two way process. The first part is transferring messages to others in a specific, obvious way; health care professionals must be able to respond to the verbal feedback as well as the non-verbal feedback. So, effective communication has to involve effort from both participators both the sender as well as the receiver in the communication. For example in convocation the person speaking must be able to send a clear message and able to understand the response in order for the communication to be effective, if the message was not clear or understood then the communication would be un-successful. Stage one is when ideas occur, this makes us think and assess the situation that we are in and clarify it is appropriate before we start to communicate. We need to think about what we are trying to say, and how to get are point across in a clear, effective way. Stage two is when the message is coded and here we have to be aware of the different methods that we can use to send our message, once we have discussed the methods properly and thought them through it will become obvious which is the most appropriate. We should try and consider the most effective communication method depending on the situation and the person in which we will be communicating with. Stage three is when the message gets sent we have now chosen the most effective communication method and need to make sure we use it in the correct way. We should not try and rush the message being sent because by doing so it could cause misunderstanding between the two people who are communicating and cause confusion giving the receiver the wrong impression. Stage four is whenever the message gets perceived by the receiver. The service user has to make sense of the message given to them and work out exactly what it means. There are some potential difficulties that may arise and we should be aware of how to solve these difficulties when or if they may happen.

Minimum Wage The Questionable Policy Essays - Economy, Business

Minimum Wage: The Questionable Policy As early as 6.00 am in a dark and cold morning of Midwest winter, a few people walking on an icy sidewalk. Under chilling wind, those people walk to a large, old building. Inside the building, the people work for repetitive, backbreaking low waged jobs. In the same day, late at night, you can see similar scene: some people walking out of the building under heavy snowstorm. Being one of those people, I know the feeling of a minimum waged worker. Like all of those workers, I feel exhausted after finishing my job. Everyday, I wait with impatience to hear my supervisor say That is it, turn off the belt. After put off my safety gloves and sweep my sweat, I can only think to return to my room and sleep. I lost most of my time and energy just for a few dollars. There are a lot of people that work harder and earn less than me. The poor, especially less-skilled workers, has access only to bad jobs at bad wages (Blank 64). Those workers always face bad situation. They are poor. They are struggling to sustain the life of their families. On the contrary, the owners of the company where they work have a high standard of living. Bad wage is advantageous for the group of people known as traditional elites who own labor-intensive firms because it lowers production cost, thus increase the competitiveness of the product. For that reason, it is natural for the traditional elites to keep wage as low as possible. This action creates what Karl Marx wrote in The Communist Manifesto as naked, shameless, direct, brutal exploitation (82). The minimum wage seems to be an appealing solution against these abusive exploitations. Applying a minimum wage law, government can force a wealth distribution among the owners and their lowest level workers. On Saturday, June 25, 1938, The U.S. Congress first instituted a minimum wage with the Fair Labor Standard Act. The minimum wage was set at 25 cents per working hour (US Department of Labor). The federal minimum wage is increase overtime, adjusted for higher living cost due to accumulated inflation. The minimum wage level is currently set at $5.15 per working hour (2001). An increase in minimum wage can help the poor by substantial amount. A 75-cent per hour increase in the minimum wage means an additional $1,500 for a minimum wage earner who works full-time, year round as much as the average family spends on groceries in 6 months (Bureau of Labor Statistics). For a minimum wage worker, this fund injection is greatly helpful. Minimum wage increase is undoubtedly favorable for low waged earners, even if their current wage is well above the minimum wage. A theory known as the ripple effects (Welch 26) said that an imposed minimum wage increase all wages, and lowest wages are affected most. There is at least another advantage of imposing higher minimum wage. According to Gregory Mankiw, one of the ten principles of microeconomics is people respond to incentives (7). Higher wages give stronger incentive to the labors, and as a result, a stronger effort to work. In other words, higher wages can generate higher profit. This opinion sounds too good to be true, but when Henry Ford open his famous car factory, the theory is proofed. With a very generous wage in his time, Ford recorded one of the greatest successes in the history. As popularly believed, minimum wage provides a win-win situation to deprive poverty. If it is so advantageous then we should raise the minimum wage with a substantial ammount. The vast majority of Americans will agree to raise the minimum wage to $5 per hour or more. How many will agree to increase minimum wage to $100 per hour? I am sure that most well educated person will not agree to such an extreme increase. According to the law of supply, a high price level will raise the quantity demanded. With a very few exception, this law prevail for all kinds of market, including the market of labor. Thus, an upsurge in the minimum wage will promote the number of people interested to join the labor force. The new labor emerge from

Stirfry

Stirfry Free Online Research Papers Look in a supermarket today and you will find a selection of food labeled gluten free, allergen free, dairy free, or lactose free. These products are usually limited, and extremely expensive. So for a person who is allergic to wheat, dairy and many nuts, how does on eat healthily, allergen free, and inexpensively? My answer to this question is stir fry. The term stir-fry was introduced into the English language in a book by Buwei Yang Chao called How to Cook and Eat in Chinese. The term was used to describe the chao technique of cooking. (1) According to Mark Vogel, â€Å"stir-frying is a technique whereby food is sautà ©ed quickly in a very hot, concave (bowl-shaped) pan called a wok. The bottom center of the pan is where the heat is most concentrated. It then dissipates as the sides of the pan are ascended.† Items for stir frying should be cut into small, uniform pieces to allow for even cooking. Once in the pan, foods should be kept in almost constant motion, often using more than one utensil. Usually longer cooking items would be placed in first, starting with a protein, adding harder vegtables, then softer vegtables, then noodles, aromatics, and sauces. Sometimes a protein will be seared, then reomved, and added back later. (3) A wok is not required to make stirfry, but it does have the advantages of spreading heat evenly and requiring less oil than a traditional pan, as well as keeping tossed foods in the pan instead of on the floor! Woks come in both a flot bottomed and a round bottomed shape. The flat bottom is best for those working with an electric stove, the round best for gas. With a round bottomed wok, there will often be a heat ring to balance to wok on and to help with heat dirtibution. (2) Stir-fries were not a regular food for me as a child. Growing up, my mom cooked a lot of pasta dishes, cassereoles, and comfort foods. We didn’t have a wok, and I didn’t know I was allergic to any foods, so I didn’t think twice about diving in to a regular bowl of pasta and meatballs or worry about the wheat flour in Cambell’s tomato soup. I learned to stir-fry in culinary school, and started using the technique because it’s quick, inexpensive, and if done well, can be very healthy. Stir Frying is a technique as much as it is a dish. One can use just about any ingerients in a stir fry that suits their tastes. I use whatever I happen to have around, or whatever happens to be on sale. My protein of choice is sually a lean cut of chicken or beef. Because the technique is quickly over high heat, proteins that are tough aren’t as ideal. For this particular stir fry I heated my flat bottomed wok up and used olive oil. I cooked my ground turkey, then drained off excess fat before adding bak choy, carrots, canned water chestnuts, and canned bamboo shoots. I coooked these down a bit before tossing in some pre-cooked rice noodles, which I cooked earlier inboiling water for 10 minutes. For a sauce I combine soy sauce with thai sweet chili sauce. To finish the dish I add slat and pepper to taste and then sqeeze a lime over the whole thing. This dish can then be served hot or cold. For the purpose of this class, I will seve mine cold. I was diagnosed with my food allergies after a lifetime of sinus problems and symptoms of a wekened immune system. I spent more time than I cared to at doctor’s offices, had numerous surguries on my sinuses, had tubes, and had my tonsils removed. Finally I got fed up with doctors who could only tell me I had yet another upper respiratory infection, and went to a naturopathic doctor. She diagnosed my allegies using a technique called Electrodermal screening, which uses the meridians of the body to detect inbalences in ones system. (4) After a diagnosis of allergies to both the lactose and the caseine in dairy, wheat (not gluten!) and certain nuts, I modifed my diet. Since modfying my diet I have noticed a significat improvement in the frequency of illnesses I have. It was explained to me that the more I eat foods that stress my system, the weaker my immune system grows. While the immune system is weak, I get sick much easier. I have experimented on my own; any time I e at pizza or regular bread now, I notice myself feeling fatigued, stuffy, and sore throated. After learning about my allergies, I started noticing just how expensive allternatives for people with allergies can be. I was spending an average of $70 a week on food when before I was only spending an average of $40. The bread and pasta alternatives are not only pricey, but from personal experience, the tastes and textures can be pretty odd. I’ve yet to find a gluten free bread that I can really palate, and the pastas in the â€Å"natural foods† section tend to be mushy. These sections often offer rice flour and other alternatives for baking, but these tend to be expensive for a college student as well. I knew from expereinces in culinary school that Asian cusines use a lot of rice flour in their cooking, and realized that we have a very nice Vietnamese market here in town. I decided to visit and see if I could find less expensive alternatives for myself that worked with my allergies. Lo and behold, they sell rice noodles, rice flour, and tapioca flour at reaso nable prices. They also have some very nice and very cheap produce. Thus, my love affair with stir fry was born, and now I hope I have passed it on! Sources: 1) Chao, Buwei Yang, How to Cook and Eat in Chinese, New York: John Day, 1945, accessed November 16th 2010 2) Parkinson, Rhonda, Before You Buy a Wok, About.com Guide, accessed November 16th, 2010 3) Vogel, Mark, R, Stir Frying, Food for Thought, July 23rd, 2008, Accessed November 16th, 2010 4) 4) Electrodermal Screening, Stillpointe Natural Health, stillpointe.net/getdoc/5c56d91e-7bb5-4be2-b5bd-b018c46526d0/Electrodermal-Screening-%28EDS%29.aspx, accessed November 16th, 2010 Research Papers on StirfryGenetic EngineeringBook Review on The Autobiography of Malcolm XMind TravelThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductTrailblazing by Eric Anderson19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraPersonal Experience with Teen PregnancyIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in CapitalAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 Europe

Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Research Proposal Example Cultural diversity is a serious problem in the learning process. The most common problem arises from the behavior of the learner in the class. For instance, students from different cultural backgrounds have unique behavioral patterns (Gay, 2010). Students have diverse learning styles. Learners who are forced to use specific learning styles that they are not acquainted with might develop some level of dissatisfaction. Teaching a frustrated student has proved to be quite cumbersome (Gay, 2002). Academic performance is varied among students. An open comparison between academically weak students and those who are bright may also lead to a sense of being dejected (Gay, 2002). The bright students may develop superiority complex and consequently affect the attentiveness of others in class if the teacher does not take care to make sure that there is a balanced approach in the classroom. As such, there have been proposals to come up with various models that teachers may use as a guide to cult ural approach in lessons. Amongst the proposals is that teaching and learning institutions should consider adopting principles of professional learning to prepare culturally responsible teachers. For example, there have been calls for professional learning to be one that is concerned with improving learning within a diverse, multicultural community. Such proposals also add, amongst other things, that the outcomes and content ought to take into consideration the concept of diversity. Statement of General Aims and Objectives The aim of the proposed study is to find out how cultural diversity affects learning outcomes. It is also the aim of this study to find out whether a teacher who has been trained on how to incorporate cultural diversity in the lessons is likely to register improved learning outcomes. To do so, the study will majorly be based on analyzing various professional opinions and other scholarly research on the same topic. Most importantly, the study will focus on the exte nt teacher-learner cultural differences may affect learning outcomes of learners at different levels of education. The information obtained and the findings will be used to assess how learners’ learning outcomes may be improved through a culturally sensitive approach that takes care of everyone’s interest on board. Specifically, the following research questions will be addressed: 1. Does cultural responsive pedagogy lead to student achievement? The research question will support the problem solving aim of the study in the following ways. First, the research question will prompt the assessment of learning methodologies in relation to the philosophy of education. The philosophy of education will then be analyzed through the prism of modern world where diversity has become quite unalienable from many social quarters. The study will them seek to answer the research question a series of analyses that assess learners actual outcomes and perceptions about cultural element in the learning environment. Literature Review Cultural issues in education have become quite common in the current world where technological and scientific advances have made the world a global village. A research done by Kana‘iaupuni et al. (2010) sought to find out culture-based education and its relationship to student outcomes among Native Hawaiian students. The study was conducted in the state’

Planning and Implementation of Mega-urban Projects Essay

Planning and Implementation of Mega-urban Projects - Essay Example Another aspect of these mega urban projects is the fact that the built environment needs to be based on the social systems and structures in such a way that the economy, culture, and social factors become evident through the arrangement of the landscape. This is what Soja describes as the â€Å"socio-spatial dialectics† These four major factors come together to define the capitalist and socio-spatial elements of a given mega urban project. This is because these indicators provide the basis for evaluating urban development project. This paper examines three urban mega projects in the United Kingdom, Germany, and South Korea. The paper examines the key elements of these three project in relation to the concepts and ideas of urban megaprojects. In arriving at this end, the paper will compare differences and similarities between the base projects. In this process, the paper will examine the trends in urban megaprojects. Liverpool ONE is a major urban development project that was conducted to boost the competitiveness of one of the UK's cities. It involved a total of about  £1 billion in expenditure and it sought to redevelop 42 acres of Liverpool into a retail-oriented zone (Grosvenor, 2007). The project was completed in 2008 and it made that zone of Liverpool one of the top five retail centers in the UK. The Potsdamer Platz in Germany is one of the key areas of Berlin and lies just a kilometer away from the famous Brandenburg Gate and has the German Parliament [Reichstag] just over twenty kilometers away (Weitz, 2007). This makes the region a very sensitive cultural and public section of Germany. The area came under intense Allied bombardment during World War II and it became a buffer zone during the Soviet Occupation (Weitz, 2007). However, after German reunification in the late 1980s, the Potsdamer Platz has gone through a lot of change processes.  

Case Study on Chilli Processing Plant Essay Example for Free

Case Study on Chilli Processing Plant Essay In Nimad area there is a place Bedia which comes in Khargaun district, there is an SHG which runs by the Mr. Jain. They runs a chilly processing plant where they purchase the red dry chilly from market and sometimes direct from farmer and produce red chilly powder. They sell this powder to Vindhya Valley Company (semi government body) and sometimes in local markets. When we talked to Mr. jain about the processing plant that we have some SHG groups of horticulture, where we includes chilly crop in our project and wanted to set up a chilly processing plant, Then he told us about to the all the parameters of chilly processing plants. Main requirements: (1) Pulverizer machine: This is the main machine of plant which is use for crushing of red dry chilly. Basically this machine is a combination of two different size and shape of pulverizer, where at first in first pulverizer we put down our raw material (red dry chilly) then it breaks into small pieces and these small pieces automatically goes into second pulverizer where second pulverizer crush that small pieces into powder. (2) Filter machine: This machine is basically used for raw material, where atfirst we put raw material on machine then it separates the unwanted particles of raw materials. (3) Mixer machine: It is basically used for mixing the oil in raw material, here we generally use food oil for mixing. Where we put down the fix quantity of oil and raw material in machine and it will mix automatically both items correctly. (4) Infrastructure: We needs at least 500 sq/meter of single hall for this whole set up where we can establish these all three machines at ideal difference. (5) Manpower: For this plant we needs at least 10 to 12 man who can operate the machines. (6) Electricity connection: Since pulverizer machine has two deferent’s power motor one motor of 12.50 horse powers and second motor of 15 horse powers. And also filter and mixing machine has individual motor. Here this is the pictures of cone pulverizer and macro pulverizer. Main cost parameters: At first we talk about the machinery cost where main machine pulverizer’s cost would be 225,000/-rs for (400kg / per day capacity), and the whole machinery set up would be around 5 to 6 lacks rupees and also sometimes it will be vary from company to company. Electricity bill would be around 8 to 10 thousand rupees. Manpower cost would be 36000/- to 43200/- rupees on monthly basis, where we will give their 120/-rs at daily basis. Manpower cost can vary from no. of working days or if we appoint man at monthly basis. Raw material or input parameters: As we know that pulverizer machine has 400kg / per day capacity,so we have to plan for sufficient raw material on capacity basis. Generally we purchases raw materials from local markets or mandi, but it will be costly comparably purchasing of direct farmer because farmer at first sell his chilly in local market or mandi then we purchases from there so here they will give this material in high rates to us because they added their cost on this material. So it would be better for us if we direct purchase from farmers. Since raw material cost will direct affect our production cost, so we have to focus on our backward linkages. Sometimes because of lack of raw material plant can be in shut down condition while on other side we are paying regularly our expenses like electricity bill, labor payment etc. If we talk about the payment mechanism at this stage it can be either cash basis or credit basis. Where if we are purchasing direct from farmers generally we have to pay him at a time or after some days, while if we are purchasing from markets or mandi. Then payment period extension can be possible for days or months. Final product marketing or output parameters: This is the important part of processing plant which will be directly affect our profit factor. Here at first we should have plan to direct marketing because it will ensure us that this particular quantity of our final product will have to sell, according to that we can decrease our risk factor otherwise we can’t depend on retail market. Here other important factor is transporting cost. It also affects our selling price, so we should have already plan to our direct marketing on distance basis. Sometimes big company wants more products in that condition it would be negotiable. Sometimes company does agreements of final product purchasing where agreements can be on quantity basis or timely basis (like different quantity on different month), so it will be also profitable for us that for particular period we are ensure that this much our final product will sell, according to that we can manage our production cost. There are two different options for final product marketing. (1) First one is that if you have good relation in local markets and ensure about personal sufficient selling of final product through local market or dealers, which can be a good deal for you here you can manage your selling price in terms of transportation cost. (2) Second one is that if you have good agreements from big company on quantity basis or timely basis at suitable price, then here you can compromise with your transportation cost because here also you are ensure that this much our final product will definitely sell at good price. Here this is the picture of red chilly processing plant. Reference: -Vardhaman SHG group Place– Bedia, dist. Khargaun (Nimad area)