High School Exit Examinations Essay Example for Free

High School Exit Examinations Essay In order to evaluate the educational ability of students Standardized Tests or examinations, have been designed, which do so in an unbiased manner, irrespective of social background and educational experience. One such test is the multiple-choice examination, wherein the students have to make a selection from a number of answers for a particular question and indicate their choice on a test form. Such tests are frequently given to students who study in elementary and secondary schools (Standardized Tests, 2006). These examinations benefitted students to a large extent, because they had to take just one set of examinations, in order to apply for admission to different schools. The College Board initiated the Scholastic Aptitude Test or the SAT in 1926. The SAT is a multiple choice test that was based on the psychological tests given to US Army recruits. The SAT, by the year 1940, was being widely employed by educational institutions in the US (Standardized Tests, 2006). Standardized tests are taken by elementary school and high school, and undergraduates and graduates. The majority of these tests are controlled by the Educational Testing Service or ETS and the American College Testing or ACT Program. The results of these tests help educational institutions to assess scholastic performance and to ascertain the suitability of a student for a particular undergraduate or graduate degree program (Standardized Tests, 2006). The Center on Education Policy or the CEP had made it mandatory for fifty two percent of the students studying in the public schools to take the high school exit examinations. However, the implementation of this policy became difficult as the CEP had realized that opposition from the public towards this compulsory high school exit examination had been on the increase. It was also decided that students who failed to obtain a pass mark in this examination would not be awarded the high school diploma. This decision to withhold high school diplomas to students who failed in the exit examination was greeted with a great deal of resistance (Darling-Hammond, Rustique-Forrester, Pecheone, 2005). The implementation of the exit examinations also caused a gradual reduction in the number of graduate students. This was evident in the Afro – American and Latino students, English language learners and students with disabilities. This reform would result in reduced incentives for students who had been striving to remain in school, a reduction in the curriculum and a disregard for higher order performance skills, because of the utilization of limited measures and irrelevant judgments regarding student learning (Darling-Hammond, Rustique-Forrester, Pecheone, 2005). The use of exit examinations varies from state to state. Some states have already implemented them, whereas other states have not implemented them. A majority of states have put forward several options and alternatives. So far only eight states have implemented the mandatory exit examination as a compulsory requirement, in which the student has to obtain a pass mark, in order to obtain a high school diploma. Further, this system does not take cognizance of the excellence of performance of the students and their academic record and is solely guided by whether the students have obtained a pass mark in the exit examination or not (Darling-Hammond, Rustique-Forrester, Pecheone, 2005). Most of the states have implemented multiple measures of performance in order to evaluate the student’s capability of learning. The student requires a pass mark in the state examination, which is used as an indicator for the student’s ability to obtain a state diploma. Moreover, the student is also required to obtain a pass mark in other alternatives that test the student by using a wide range of methods so as to establish their academic learning. In these states, there is not just a single test to disqualify students from graduation but there exist an array of indicators to determine the knowledge of the students (Darling-Hammond, Rustique-Forrester, Pecheone, 2005). In an important report relating to the implementation of the high school exit test in the state of Mississippi, sixty five recommendations had been proposed. Some of these are, it would be totally inappropriate to require students to obtain a pass mark in an examination that contained material that had not been taught to the students. Further, the exit examination should be based on a multiple choice system, which would test thinking skills. Moreover, the exit examination would be undesirable for the students of the state of Mississippi. In addition, the national – level exit examination would require a total restructuring of the curriculum of the district schools, which would create serious difficulties. Furthermore, measures that evaluate the student’s skills and performance should be segmented. Moreover, great care would have to be taken while implementing tests that evaluate the performance and skills of students (ED384990 – Issues To Consider in Moving beyond a Minimal Competency High School Graduation Test, 1995). The states of Arizona, California and Utah introduced high school exit examinations, in which high school students from the year 2006 have to obtain a pass mark, in order to be awarded a high school diploma. In most of the states of the Union that enforce such high school exit examinations, students are required to take it in the sophomore year. The level of these tests is of the tenth grade and students who are unable to obtain a pass mark are provided with a number of opportunities to again take this test. Sixteen of the twenty three states that have made these tests compulsory have directed the schools to provide remediation to students who fail to obtain a pass mark. Furthermore, in states that are introducing these examinations, financial help for such remediation has in most of the cases been provided by it (David, 21st June, 2006). In the state of New York students have taken these high school exit tests with a very high degree of success and have obtained a large number of diplomas. However, this has not proved to be applicable to students belonging to the minority communities. The Education Commissioner disclosed that eighty one percent of white students obtained their diplomas in due course, whereas the students of minority communities found the obtention of pass marks in English, mathematics, global history, geography, US history and science to be a daunting task. Consequently, only forty two percent of the Hispanic students, forty five percent of African American and sixty eight percent of Asian students obtained their diplomas within the stipulated time (Hoff, 23rd of March, 2005). A survey conducted by the National Center on Educational Outcomes has revealed the fact that fifty percent of the states of the Union have made it mandatory to obtain a pass mark in the exit test, in order to be eligible to obtain a high school diploma. However, very few states have implemented an alternative procedure for evaluating disabled students, which is of an equivalent standard in comparison to the test applied to regular students. This report goes on to state that the absence of tests for the disabled and regular students that are of equivalent rigor, gives rise to the impression that disabled students are not competent to undertake grade level work (Samuels, 4th of May, 2005). In the state of California, the Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger passed a law that exempts disabled students from taking and obtaining a pass mark in the high school exit test. This new law states that if a student had been permitted to follow an individual education plan and if such a student had satisfied all other criteria for being awarded with a high school diploma and further if that student had received remediation for the exit test, then that student would be allowed to graduate, irrespective of having obtained a pass mark in the exit test. The objective of this law was to enable the state of California to provide better instructions for disabled students (Jacobson, 8th of Februray, 2006). In the state of Utah, even if students who do not obtain a pass mark in every portion of the high school exit test, they are awarded the high school diploma. However, such diplomas contain a statement that the student had not obtained a pass mark in the high school exit test. Several states of the Union are having second thoughts about continuing with such high school exit tests and at the same time a several students have proved to be unsuccessful in obtaining a pass mark in their graduation examinations. The law in the state of Utah has made it mandatory for high school students to obtain a pass mark in mathematics, reading and that part of the Utah Basic Skills Competency Test that comprises of tests on writing skills, in order to be awarded with a high school diploma (Olson, 25th January, 2006). In another study it was established that states of the Union, in which high school exit tests are in vogue, have a graduation rate and college entrance examination marks that are significantly lower than states that do not have such tests. In particular, students from states of the Union, that had made it mandatory to obtain a pass mark in the high school exit examination, fared worse than students from states of the Union that did not insist on such a condition, in the internationally acknowledged Scholastic Aptitude Test. Moreover, such students had a significantly lower rate of graduation (Viadero, 2nd of February, 2005). It has been opined by many people that high school exit examinations result in an increase in the number of students who discontinue their studies, before obtaining a high school diploma. The detractors of such exit examinations have very pertinently pointed out the fact that the already low graduation rates are being forced down to a much lower level. Many critics have stated that it would be patently unfair to deny a student who had completed thirteen years of schooling a high school diploma, merely because that student could not obtain a pass mark in the high school examination. Moreover, many persons consider such a denial of a high school diploma to be ruthlessly unjust, because such a diploma is essential for ensuring a bright future.

The role of social media in tourism marketing

The role of social media in tourism marketing Managing and Marketing Tourism 1. Discuss the role and significance of social media in tourism marketing. You must consider the broader context of ICTs, new channels including smartphones, and the implications for the tourism industry and consumer experience. â€Å"Innovation needs to be part of your culture. Consumers are transforming faster than we are, and if we don’t catch up, we’re in trouble.† –Ian Schafer. The whole world is totally dependent on novelties, and in modern world it is necessary always to be up-to-date. However just the awareness of the new trends on its own is not enough. Apart from it, it is essential to be able to get adjusted to them in an appropriate way. That is exactly what is happening in the tourism industry: there has been a comparatively recent breakthrough in technologies, and while the service providers seek to find best solutions of restructuring their marketing strategies and destination management systems, consumers are trying to gain more monetary and experiential benefits. The technologies that are tremendously important for tourism industry in this particular case gave a rise to social media. Social media comprises of a huge variety of tools that make it possible for Inter net users to share, exchange or post media files and other types of information using various channels onto web. Basically, the growth in ICTs has already resulted into vast shifts from in consumer and provider sides. Consumers became more sophisticated in terms of searching for the most rational options in accommodation, flights and other issues. With the use of new ICTs (SM platforms such as TripAdvisor, social networks like YouTube and web blogs like Twitter) customers are able to share feedbacks, photos and videos, find what millions of other Internet users’ opinions are. All of the users have an easy access to ratings on the places they are interested in. According to Zhou (2004), travelers prefer to rely on their peers’ feedback rather than on advertisements or opinions of experts. They stick to the belief that their peers have no incentives to be dishonest. The decision making process of customers has become more complicated, and their travel can be split into t hree phases, with an intensive contribution of social media in each phase. Due to the enlarged ICT use, service providers are forced to offer more elastic and personalised deals to tourists. Tourism industry has become very information-rich, therefore it is a big challenge for destinations to create or maintain their brand. However, with the suitable marketing strategy, social media can turn into an advantage. The significance of social media in modern tourism industry is very hard to overestimate. Social media are shaping the whole way companies and governments manage their products and services in tourism. First of all, social media open numerous opportunities to service providers. Through social media it became possible to contact a huge audience, which can exchange information with each other. It means that with the right use of social media the message can be spread very quickly and widely. Good associations with the brand can create added PR and extremely wide brand recognition. These methods of advertising are much cheaper than traditional ones. Another positive feature of social media for tourism is that it makes easier for both supply and demand sides to communicate with each other in order to build strong relationships, enhance cooperation and create efficient integrated marketing strategy. It also helps to avoid unnecessary payments to intermediaries in many cases. Apparently, t ravel agents are still demanded in the market; however the need of them is decreasing constantly. The survey shows that just 48 per cent of people stick on their initial plan after searching for some details concerning their trip using SM (WTM, 2014). As demonstrated before, social media in recent decades has gained a huge influence on tourists’ decision-making process and the tourism industry as a whole. Therefore the development of new, efficient Information and Communication Technologies and applications for social media is seemed as a necessity. New technologies allow users to have wide range of opportunities necessary to organize their trips. With the use of User Generated Content (UCG) and Web 2.0 there was created an application TripAdvisor which has been downloaded by different users worldwide on various devices more than 82 million times. It has 69 mil attendances every month; the number of trip reviews and feedback exceeds sixty million; less than 10 per cent of issues placed online are not responded in first 24 hours. Applications such as TripAdvisor make the pr ocess of planning the travel more conscious, convenient and rational for customers. In terms of the suppliers, they are also able to get benefits of ICTs: social media applications allow service providers to collect data about the customers. It becomes easier to find the target audience and make appropriate offers according to their preferences and expectations. The new technologies even offer virtual travels to some destinations. Usually such trips are free and their purpose is to show the clients a piece of emotions they can experience during the real trip. Moreover, the emergence of new technologies has created a possibility for tourists not only to visit very common places of interest, but also quite special destinations, which they would never be aware of without ICTs (Giaoutzi and Nijkamp,2006). Buhalis, D. and Law, R. (2008) suggest that there are three phases of travel, and during each of them tourism used to intensively communicate through social media. During pre-travel phase the consumer is being relatively passive while looking for some information rather than posting anything. However, it is not a rare case when people post several specified questions concerning their further trip in order to receive a respond from other users who might probably have a bigger experience or knowledge in the questioned area. Before the travel users commonly review accommodation opportunities, flight options and other less important details such as climate and culture. As mentioned earlier, the opinion of other users plays a vital role in decision making at the first phase. The majority of travelers strongly rely on the recommendations of their peers even if they did not know them before. The second phase happening during the trip is called travel phase. Social media are still extremely useful when the trip has already started. Travelers typically use social media at this phase to find some very specific information on the destination they stay at. Such information includes the materials about upcoming events, places of sightseeing, restaurants, clubs, bars, most visited places and so on. TripAdvisor has numerous advices of where to go in every part of the world; therefore it is possible to be aware of all the trends in the destination without any preparation. In order to improve travelers’ experience, they can also find the e-guide applications which will show them the directions to chosen places. While enjoying the travel most of the tourists tend to share some media files and instant feedback about the place they are visiting. 40 per cent of tourists post reviews on catering places, while 55 per cent ‘like’ posts on Facebook concerning travelling (WTM, 2014). Before the era of social media, travelers used to share their experiences only to a limited group of people. However, now it became possible to post everything online. As soon as the information posted in the web, there is no control over it, so it can be discovered by millions of other users. People when coming after vacations post taken photos, videos, feedback and other information which can influence the view of millions of other people. According to The World Travel Market (2014), 76 per cent of people post vacation photos in the Internet, while 46 per cent post feedback on their accommodation. Social media has a tremendous effect on the tourism industry, and in some cases in may seem to be contradictory. Along with new opportunities the development of ICTs forced the supply side of tourism to adapt for the changes. Therefore Destination Management Organisations have become very important determinants of success of the strategies. One of the main functions of DMOs is to maintain the sustainability of destinations with a special reference to SMTEs (Sigala, 2009). DMOs have created numerous Internet portals in order to provide tourists with pursued data. Consumers are offered to use the dynamic packaging, which is the mixture of various tourism modules, put together and priced online, as a respond to travelers’ application (Cardoso, 2005). Malta is a great example of a destination which has developed an extremely successful Destination Management System (www.visitmalta.com) that allows tourists to book flights and buy tickets in the Internet. There is also an applicati on for Apple devices that comprises of electronic guide system around Malta, including data, specific details, roads, virtual trips and so on. With the growing opportunities, the number of players in tourism industry has increased as well. The entry barriers have become much weaker, whereas the volume of the market has grown. Consequently, the emergence of a highly competitive environment seems very logical. In such conditions, the sustainability has become a very significant aspect, which cannot be ignored. The existing business environment implied that in order to be successful it is necessary to maintain brand identity (Vatanasombut, B., Stylianou, A. Igbaria, M., 2004). Competitive advantage that is one of the objectives for all destinations could be reached by creating and maintaining customer loyalty (Gurau, C., Ranchhod, A. Hackney, R., 2003). However, self-service environment is contradicting with being loyal to one brand. Hence the autonomy of consumers is both a requirement and a threat. Social media’s effect on the consumers’ experience and decision-making is astonishing imagination. Its influence even though is complicated, it can be obviously demonstrated. As The World Travel Market (2014) investigations show, 33 per cent of the travelers altered their accommodation due to the use of social media, 10 per cent changed resorts, 10 per cent switched the intermediary, 7 per cent decided to spend the vacations in another country, 5 per sent changed airlines. This numerical data shows that customers’ decisions are very elastic and their experience can be shaped easily. A huge advantage for the service providers is that nowadays they have the possibility to manage consumer expectations and their experience. Joseph Pine IIandJames Gilmore claim that experience economy is the new stage of economy following the service economy. They argue that organizations have to create extraordinary, memorable experiences for consumers to be satisfied. In this sense, it become easier for destinations to prepare some personalized plan for each customer, or at least each type of customer. They now can anticipate the expectations of their clients and try to exceed their expectations what will eventually lead to exciting experience and satisfaction of consumer. 75 % of companies consider that customer relationship management applications they have chosen to be fiascos since the issues they focused on do not improve consumer satisfaction rate or influence adequately the sales (Feinberg, R. and Kadam, R., 2002). The experience shows that developing Destination Management Systems is not always an easy task to perform. There are numerous cases when the DMOs seem to be useless in terms of improvement of customer satisfaction. One of the good examples is the case of India. Tourism there is currently at the development phase, and it has huge opportunities due to the plenty of tourist attractions, cheap flight tickets and large numbers of travelers arriving from all around the world. Nowadays, India is ranked as 61st most attractive destination in the world (UNWTO, 2015), and it is ready to become more and more competitive. However, India is experiencing problems with tourists’ dissatisfaction of ICTs development across the country. The majo r complaint include: no access to mobile versions of online portals, employees are not trained to offer ICT services, too much reliance on traditional methods, many companies cannot be reviewed through the Internet, the Internet access is in a huge deficit and others. Although there are several problems in implementing certain strategies such as the openness of information (competitors can easily access and copy each other’s strategies), it is still possible to find effective ways to gain and maintain customer loyalty. One of excellent scenarios is presented by Australian GMO and is based on inspiration of discussions around Australia using a variety of websites and applications such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Google. The Facebook account is constantly posting information about new trends and the photos of the most picturesque views in Australia. They differentiate themselves by taking into consideration the content send privately by visitors and posting the best of it on the Facebook page. Every Friday there are posted best pictures of the week and also added to the guest album. The ongoing conversation is constantly maintained and apparently most of the issues discussed are positive. The Instagram account of Tourism Australia has over 1 million followers and it is also posting the visitors’ experiences which are later being commented on. Accounts on Twitter and Google post more information rather than media content; however they are also very popular since they include unique facts and news about Australia. Other, more individual methods to gain consumer loyalty include emotional influence, sustainable tourism and philanthropic concerns. First of all, the emotional connection of customers sometimes can be manipulated to become very strong. For example, there is a real life story about a young boy who was strolling next to the barber shop every day for several weeks. After a while, the owner of the barber shop noticed the child and invited him to his shop with the words: â€Å"there will be more benefit from you inside than outside†. Few years later the boy grown up, he learned everything about barber shop and became one of the leading hairdressers. Every time he met a new client he was telling him his story, and people experienced extremely strong emotional connection to that barber shop. Moreover, they were spreading the voice about that boy’s story, what consequently brought the barber shop a huge popularity and success. Secondly, it is important for most of the customer s to be sure that their service provider is ethical. Therefore, it is important to keep the business â€Å"green†, promote charity and other vastly important concerns. ‘‘Product Red’’ (2008) is a good example of a campaign of selling goods colored in red and donate part of the profits to the fond. Dedicated money goes for AIDS treatment development, illnesses in African countries and diseases counted as epidemic. The discussions around SM are widely spread, however not many organizations can exploit all the offered opportunities. In the real life, the way normal people use social media use quite simple and clear: we exchange information, we often ask for advices to improve something we are not satisfied with. That is what organizations should pay attention to. They should ask questions from users in order to keep improving in the right directions. It is vital not only to ask for people’s recommendations but also to make sure that their ideas if suitable are implemented in reality. The potential of such cooperation supply side with demand side is very big. It is also important for consumers to express themselves; it brings them the sense of belonging. Their ideas might be unique and very useful. When companies receive exceptionally good feedback, they can be lost in their development strategies. Constructive critics of different aspects can become a very valuable piece of recommendation s. The emergence of ICTs and social media has dramatically reformed the organization and priorities distribution in tourism industry. Customers are the ones to gain more than other players of the industry because their bargaining power has become much higher. Nowadays it is dependent on the opportunities that consumers have to go to web and get all the necessary information or discuss anything with service providers, at the same time gaining advantage from saving money. Social media has led to fierce competition between service providers and presented many improvements to the industry. The constant connection of travelers to Internet made it possible to exchange information in the real time and resulted into introduction of new channels of communication which make the processes of distribution more convenient. Internet portals and websites have a bigger and bigger influence on travels. The improvements in social media will be sustained by the launching of fresh ICTs. The existence of ne w effective technologies will encourage service providers to increase their rationality and take a full advantage of ICTs by restructuring their Destination Management Systems. Although the cases of unsuccessful DMS implementation are happening worldwide, they can be avoided by creating appropriate strategies for dealing with online customers and bloggers. It is essential to gain benefits from the cooperation with the demand side and taking some of the proposed ideas into consideration. Reference list: ABTA, 2004. ABTA Travel Statistics and Trends.Association of British Travel Agents. Available at: http://www.abtamembers.org/research/abtastatstrends2004.pdf> [Accessed: April 25, 2015]. Bramwell, B. Lane, B., 2009.Economic cycles, times of change and sustainable tourism,Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 17(1), 1-4 Buhalis, D. and Law, R.,2008.Progress in information technology and tourism management: 20 years on and 10 years after the Internet – The state of eTourism research,Tourism Management, 29. pp. 609-623. 2008. Cardoso, J., 2005.E-Tourism: Creating Dynamic Packages Using Semantic Web Processes Feinberg, R. and Kadam, R., 2002.ECRM Web Service Attributes as Determinants of Customer Satisfaction with Retail Websites,International Journal of Service Industry Management 13(5): 432–51. Giaoutzi, M. Nijkamp, P., 2006.Tourism and Regional Development: New Pathways,: Ashgate, Aldershot. Grau, J., 2005. Bargain Hunters Want Service Too.iMedia Connection. Available at: http://imedia.com/content5338.asp> [Accessed: April 25, 2015]. Gurau, C., Ranchhod, A. Hackney, R., 2003.Customer-centric Strategic Planning: Integrating CRM in Online Business Systems, Information Technology and Management 4(2–3): 199–214, 200. Mangold, W. G., Miller, F. Brockway, G. R., 1999.Word-ofmouth communication in the service marketplace,Journal of Services Marketing 13(1), 73—89. Sigala, M. , 2009.Destination Management Systems (DMS): A Reality Check in the Greek Tourism Industry,: Amsterdam, The Netherlands. UNWTO, 2015.Compendium of Tourism Statistics,World Tourism Organization: Madrid, Spain. Vatanasombut, B., Stylianou, A. Igbaria, M., 2004.How to Retain Online Customers,Communications of the ACM 47(6): 65–9. WTM, 2014.The World Travel Market (WTM) Industry and Global Trends Report. Available at: http://blogs.wtmlondon.com/reports/social-media-reports/> [Accessed: April 24, 2015]. ZHOU, Z., 2004.E-commerceandInformationTechnologyinHospitality and Tourism: Delmar Learning, Canada

Determining Concentrations with Spectrophotometer

Determining Concentrations with Spectrophotometer To learn how to make a spectrophotometer accurately and interpret the data recorded to construct a graph and obtain a standard curve using excel. To learn how mathematical calculations of the absorbance readings and of unknowns to get the standard curve of a concentration value from the curve. Method: Refer to Proc 2048 Biochemical Engineering Lab Manual Exercise 1- The Spectrophotometer Absorbance readings of Methyl Orange and Bormophenol Blue were recorded for a range of wavelengths from 400 to 700nm intervals, zeroing the apparatus with a distilled water blank after each change in wavelength. Exercise 2: Determination of Glucose Concentration Each of the standard glucose solutions and the unknown solutions were tested in spectrophotometer using a wavelength of 580nm and absorbance readings were taken for each. Exercise 3- Determination of Yeast concentration Similarly to the glucose experiment absorbance readings of different standard and unknown yeast concentrations were recorded at a wavelength of 600nm. Unknown solutions U and V were also diluted to a 1:2 ratio with distilled water as the concentrations are too high and fall outside the acceptable absorbance range. Calculations: Unknown glucose calculations y = 0.1836x 0.008, Solve for x gives Subbing in absorbance values for each unknown glucose solution gives: Unknown yeast calculations y = 0.557x + 0.003 Solve for x gives Subbing in absorbance values for each unknown glucose solution gives: U and V need to be multiplied by 2 after calculation as they were diluted in a 1:2 dilution Discussion: In exercise 1 different wavelengths was used and the absorbance in the graph increasing then decreases and then slightly increasing. The colour contributes to where the max absorbance occurs and the concentration affects the intensity of the peaks. For instant the parts blue and the parts yellow light is a green colour. This is the light that we see, and therefore the wavelengths of light to pass through the absorbance with the minimum in terms of all other waves of light absorbance higher. Spectrum analysis of pure sugar solution would be impossible for any absorbance that can happen is the solution to be transparent and any suspended particles. This means that solutions need glucose to the reaction with 1 ml of 3.5 acid Dinitrosalicylic (Domain Name System) to form amino 3, 5 Nitrosalicylic acid, a compound color absorbs light strongly in all parts of 580nm. This enables us to use spectral analysis to determine the focus. This applies only if the intensity of the color of the product is directly proportional to the concentration of the reactants. In this case, glucose concentration is directly proportional to the amount of amino 3, 5 Nitrosalicylic acid producers such as the Stoichiometry of the reaction is 1:01, and most of this focus is not to reach a balance It is important that the blank or zero concentration used for this experiment is not just distilled water but 1ml of DNS and distilled water made up to the same volume as the other samples, as the unreacted DNS in our glucose solutions is contributing to the colour of the solution as well as the 3-Amino,5-Nitrosalicylic Acid. In exercises 3 yeast is basic in terms of chemistry is based on the physics. By increasing the concentration, the absorbance will increases in yeasts solutions however they are not coloured but they are block and scatter, so some the light will not go through them. And this because we are dealing with suspended particulate matter, and not resolved ions. Blot out the light commensurate with the focus so that we can find the concentrations of unknown values of absorbance. It is important to shake well before taking the sample absorbance reading such as yeast, particles and settle to the bottom, that mean if we are not shaken them, so they will give us a lower absorbance reading. Questions Exercise 2 The cuvettes have different surfaces for two reasons. The frosted ridged sides are so no light escapes out the sides of the cuvette giving a false reading. The other reason they have 2 different sides is so that you dont handle the transparent sides directly as oils or dirt from your fingers could increase the absorbance and give inaccurate results Particles in solution (just like in the yeast experiment) affect the absorption reading by blocking or deflecting light away from the detector therefore the particles in a coloured would increase the absorbance and give inaccurate results, unless the concentration and size of the particles is constant with all tests conducted then it would not affect the calculated results. A standard curve in spectrophotometric analysis is a linear trendline that fits through your experimental data. It is calculated by measuring absorbance readings at a range of different concentrations and plotting them against each other. A linear regression done my excel or other means is calculated for the points and an equation in terms of absorbance (Y) and concentration (X) is formed and you can use this equation to calculate unknown concentrations from absorbance readings. Exercise 3 The cuvettes have different surfaces for two reasons. The frosted ridged sides are so no light escapes out the sides of the cuvette giving a false reading. The other reason they have 2 different sides is so that you dont handle the transparent sides directly as oils or dirt from your fingers could increase the absorbance and give inaccurate results Firstly dilute the dye to an adequate concentration with distilled water .Find the maximum absorbance of the diluted dye by testing absorbances at a range of different wavelengths ensuring you zero with distilled between each wavelength. Take some of the dye and dilute it with distilled water to about 6 8 different concentrations i.e. 1:100 à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   1:10, depending on what absorbance readings you get adjust the dilutions to fit in a range of 0 à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   0.8 as that is where the Beer-Lambert Law applies. Using the max absorption wavelength you would then prepare a standard curve for the dye by measuring absorbance of each of the diluted concentrations. Plot the absorbance vs concentration and use a linear regression to form an equation. Take a sample of the waste water and filter off any suspended particles to increase the accuracy of the absorbance reading. Finally measure the absorbance of the sample diluting accordingly if absorbance is not in the required range. Using th is absorbance value in your standard curve equation calculate the concentration and multiply by your dilution factor if the sample was diluted. Assuming you already have a standard curve and equation for the nitrate complex for a range of 0 à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   1.5 mg/L. All you need to do is dilute your sample from your suspected 55 mg/L to fall in the concentration range of 0 à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   1.5 mg/L. So a 1:50 or a 1:100 dilution would be enough to give you 1.1 mg/L or 0.55 mg/L respectively. Then the sample is ready for spectrophotometer analysis. Conclusion: All of the yeast and sugar were obtaining accurate test results with the value of R2 (0.99) for each of the trend lines and graphs. 99% accuracy meaning that lines fits for most the points. The process was a good knowledge to learn and it is useful to understand the Beer-Lambert law and his applications.

Essay --

The Vietnam War is one of the most controversial subjects in American politics. The US went to the war under the guise of the domino effect, as they believed that if Vietnam fell, the surrounding countries would fall as well. President Johnson said â€Å"If you let a bully come into your garden, the next day he’ll be on your porch, and the day after that he’ll rape your wife† One thing that is not controversial is that we lost the war. Lots of different factors contributed to the United States unsuccessful trip to Vietnam. Among many reasons, one of the two biggest factors in the lose of the war was America’s foreign policy how and how bad the US underestimated how important freedom and independence was to the people of Vietnam. On top of that the US used the wrong military strategy, instead of focusing on limiting collateral damage the US used heavy artillery that killed citizens and alienated would be supporters. There was political corruptness in So uth Vietnam governments, which meant that they could not build an alternative to the NLF. At home, the public opinion of the war was decreasing at a constant rate and demonstrations were at an all time high. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong, and these problems all contributed to a Vietnam tour that went horribly wrong and an attitude among the American people that was growing ever doubt full of their government. There is lots of belief that the reason the United States lost the war is because of their foreign policy. America’s mission was not to get rid of Communism all together but rather to just stop the spread of Communism. The US had many past opportunities to destroy Communism; the Korean War would be a prime example. However out of fear that we would sound like ... ...y changed America, its politics, and foreign policy forever. Not only is this war the longest war in American history, its also the war that will leave the deepest scar. This war changed the way Americans viewed themselves and it tarnished their self-image. The Vietnam war was the first time in history of the United States that failed to accomplish its stated war aims, to preserve a separate, independent, noncommunist government. Not only did it affect our views on foreign policy, it affected the people of America too. The war was broadcasted on the television, the first time that had ever happened, and it allows the public to get a first hand account of what was happening on the battlefield. This war divided the American people, it was one of the most polarizing times in our history. This war will be in the forefront of Americans mind for many generations to come

The Life of the Governess Rebecca Sharp :: Victorian Era

The Life of the Governess Vanity Fair Sets the Stage â€Å"If Miss Rebecca Sharp had determined in her heart upon making the conquest of this big beau, I don't think, ladies, we have any right to blame her†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Thackery 27). The narrator of Vanity Fair encourages readers not to blame Rebecca Sharp for being determined to win Joseph Sedley's attentions and proposal in only ten days! After all, the narrator reminds us that she was motherless, and thus had no one to help her secure a husband. Yet, members of Vanity Fair rebuke Miss Sharp for her assertive efforts. Perhaps, though, one should sympathize and applaud Miss Sharp's labors because her destination after ten days was the life of a governess. A Governess-A Definition The position of a governess required that one act as a companion for her charges and teach them the accomplishments that would enable them to compete effectively in society†¦ The required accomplishments were still one or two languages, preferably French and Italian, music, dancing, drawing and needlework†¦ The eventual aim was the best possible marriage. --Alice Renton, 48 The governess was even often the heroine for writers focusing on domestic, educational and social issues (â€Å"The Victorian Governess†). Yet, author and former governess Charlotte Brontà « wrote, â€Å"it was better to be a housemaid or kitchen girl, rather than a baited, trampled, desolate, distracted governess† (Damrosch 1524). And Anna Jameson wrote, â€Å"a woman who knows anything in the world would, if the choice be left to her, be anything in the world rather than be a governess† (Renton 59). Why the Negativity Regarding a Governess? As the cries of these governesses allude, life as a governess was not always glamorous, despite the literary regard. â€Å"A governess who was capable of teaching more than the usual subjects was generally little valued† (Renton 50). The pay a governess received often reflected the small value. â€Å"Her wages could be as low as eight pounds a year†¦ Charlotte Brontà « received twenty pounds per year (actually only sixteen since washing expenses were deducted at the source)† (Allingham). Perhaps the Quarterly Review best put the institution of being a governess in perspective when the following was published, â€Å"a being who is our equal in birth, manners, and education, but our inferior in worldly wealth† (Renton 96). Thus, governesses â€Å"ranked with the superior servants† (Altick 56) and ended up feeling broken and lonely as Jameson described (Renton 59). So Where Did Becky Fit In? Becky was obviously not the typical Victorian governess.

Deviance and Crime (Sociology)

One of the ways in which sociologists theorize deviance is through the control theory. This theory was first pioneered by Travis Hirschi in 1969. The control theory suggests that a person who does commit serious crimes is free of any emotional, social feelings and for those that do not commit crimes are able to control themselves to not commit crimes and behave in an acceptable manner in society without being a danger to others. Basically, this theory emphasizes that a person from birth is capable of acting in criminal behaviour, but the social factors affect a person from committing criminal acts or not.Within this theory there are four factors in which someone will not commit in any deviant behaviour. These factors are attachment, commitment, involvement and belief . Attachment applies to affection that a person has for their parents or friends, etc. and does not want to disappoint or hurt by involving themselves into delinquent behaviour. Commitment is used to describe what a pers on has to lose when they involve themselves in committing crimes, etc. such as having a high standing in society or whether they are in school or are employed.Involvement refers to the amount of time a person invests in something that keeps them busy such as any extracurricular activities, for example, which would prevent them from having the time to commit crimes. The final factor belief refers to a person’s own belief system and whether or not they choose to follow societal rules and that if they do believe in these rules, they would be less likely to act in a deviant manner. These bonds that are presented by Hirschi are meant to represent that they control our behaviour through social contraventions and are not necessarily laws that are within our society.Basically, this theory best describes the reasons in which deviance is theorized because it takes into effect all of the reasons in which a person would or would not act in a deviant manner. The four bonds that were menti oned above highlight the factors that are important in almost everyone’s lives and that if any of those are missing in our lives, it would lead us to act in devious ways. An example in which describes the way in which these social bonds can present hemselves when they are no longer there are described in the article â€Å"Key Idea: Hirschi’s Social Bond/Social Control Theory† when they describe how a person would still stop at a stop sign in the middle of nowhere with no other traffic and no police cars observing. This is a good example because it shows that a person is still worried about any possible implications that a bad decision would affect them. The control theory is a theory, which could best to explain deviance and why people act in a deviant manner. The reason why is that the manner in which people are raised and who they are surrounded by.For example, someone does not commit any crimes because of the fact that they have family and friends and conform to society’s rules so that they could continue to have the bonds that they have with their friends and family, but when that bond is broken, that leaves room for the person to partake in deviant acts. Some of the weaknesses that can be pointed out in this factor could be that some delinquents who are underage could possibly have less parental supervision and that they would be free to experiment with different things whether it is illegal or not.Another weakness in this theory is that a person is not essentially capable of committing criminal acts from birth, but there are events in a person’s life where they need or want to involve themselves in criminal acts. This theory is the better theory when describing deviance. This is the better theory because it takes into effect most of the reasons why a person would or would not take part in deviant behaviour. The four social bonds that are described within this theory are things that a person would hold dear and would not jeopardize these relationships or beliefs and feelings by partaking in criminal or deviant behaviour.

Clothing and its importance in Society Essay

There is a very common saying, â€Å"The way you dress, you will be judged.† Some people do not believe this is true, they say is more important your character than your status quo, your thoughts than the car you drive etc. But today, we are living in a very corrupted and materialist world, where those second things like material possessions and appearance are taking first place on people’s priorities. This is because fashion builds the person ´s identity. That’s why we should understand that clothing and fashion is important today as it was yesterday and will be in the future. For hundreds of years people have put some message in the type of clothing they wear. Long ago people started wanting to stand out from the â€Å"crowd† and be different changing their clothing. Some examples of these â€Å"standing out† became very popular and were followed by more people. This was the moment when fashion appeared. see more:essay on fashions Nowadays, fashion is defined for Malcolm Barnard a fashion reporter as a â€Å"constantly changing trend, favored for frivolous rather than practical, logical, or intellectual reasons†. Nevertheless, it is necessary to say that at the present moment fashion has a deeper influence on the life of people and possess more than just frivolous reasons for its existence. Clothing has become an integral part of self-realization of every person. It is no longer just an â€Å"external shield† and a frivolous attitude towards it may cause losing a very important physical, psychological and social aspect of a person’s life. This covering is a need, a necessity that is dictated by the norms of social conduct. This â€Å"necessity† brings a lot of variety into the lives of people and makes their image more complete. It is not about people serving fashion; it is about fashion being a slave of people. This is something we should pay attention. The type of clothing completely depends on the person who is wearing it; therefore it becomes a reflection of his perception of himself, which leads us to the term, â€Å"personal identity†. The choice of clothing and accessories is as important as identification through the color of hair, height, skin and gender. Clothing nowadays is a media of information about the person wearing it. As every cloth carries a strong message about its owner, every owner â€Å"nests† a certain value in it depending on his temperament, mindset or today’s mood. Therefore, the clothing of a person is a mean of communication with the outside world. It is the way of telling people about the â€Å"state† of it owner. Communication is also a sing expressed by clothing. This especially touches extraordinarily in clothing or an obvious lack of taste and vulgarity. Malcolm Barnard in his book â€Å"Fashion as communication† makes a great work by outlining cultural roles, rules , rituals, and responsibilities that are maintained and constructed by fashion. Fashion is compared to art. It is like an architect that gives his creation any shape he desires and at the same time is the reflection of the architect’s belonging to a certain social level, a certain psychological condition and so on. The message that clothing contains is basically a way of nonverbal communication with gender, ethical and power aspects. Clothes have an immense impact on the perception of people around and on the perception of the person wearing them, too. A suit can make a person feel more confident and organized, which would eventually change even the gestures and the manner of talking of the person or for instance wearing jeans after a suit may change the conduct of a person to a very liberal and feeble one. The perception of people around can be very predictable in terms of their reaction on a person wearing this or that style of clothing. Fashion is one of the most powerful means of communication, which sometimes may play a vital role in the life of a person. So, fashion is a very important tool of manipulation while communicating besides its importance in social class, culture, sex and gender relations of people. Clothing is a fundamental part in the image of a contemporary man or a woman. The image is constructed for various reasons and has various manifestations. Dressing has become a way to create, to reveal and to conceal information from the external observers. Fashion has always been considered to have more of a women based orientation. As soon as women realized that experimenting with their clothing might bring them the results they need they became the most interested consumers and the demand on women’s production increased greatly. Women, have a great impact on the development of fashion worldwide. Of course one of the primary messages clothes carry is the social message. Women throughout the time have tried to make the clothing look more luxurious. Historically the social message has wildly transformed. It is very easily trace in Diana Crane’s book â€Å"Fashion and it social agendas†. Nowadays clothing is not an attribute of belonging to a clan, or to a restrained social level though it still can tell a lot about the financial status of a person. A person, especially a women is always greeted according to the way is dressed up. Therefore women may cause desirable reaction by knowing the expectations of the â€Å"opponent†. Historically, women wore traditional dresses, which signified their cultural and social status. As for now, traditional clothing has been completely subdued by â€Å"fashionable clothing†. Women clothing in the past had a lot to do with emphasizing femininity, neglecting man-like forms of dressing. Women become less ladylike but more aggressive and businesslike. A woman is opposed to a man. Women have accepted a lot of clothing styles that propagandize masculinity. Of course there still are women that are the embodiments of tenderness and femininity preserving women’s sexuality but nevertheless the general tendency of feminization in today’s society has done its work. Equality at work, business and politics has transformed the image of a woman greatly. It is no surprise to any of the people who at least know what fashion is that the clothes that people wear are usually very symbolic. The symbolism of clothing is another part of delivering the message that a person tries to put into it. Originally, a symbol is a facility that is used to express feelings or belonging to some group of class often dealing with power and wealth. Expression of symbols through clothing is a very popular tendency nowadays. Symbolism in clothing may point to the profession the person is dedicated to. The perception of symbols is not the same as the perception of the whole clothing image of an individual, because people may interpret the same symbol differently and therefore the understanding of the carrier of the symbol will be completely different. For instance, a man with a tiger on this T-shit may seem aggressive to one person and a Green Peace member for another one. A bird may be a symbol of freedom and somebody can view it a symbol of light-mindedness. Every person has to be very careful with the symbol while visiting a foreign country, due to the double meaning of the symbols that may be offending to the culture the person is in. The goal of every symbol is to share information. As every person belongs to a definite culture and has the right to reveal it, personal identity may sometimes be replaced by cultural identity. Clothing in terms of culture is to reveal either the historical roots of a person or the roots the group he belongs to. The oriental-followers are easily defined from the crowd by the specific collars and style of dressing they hold on to. Demonstrating a belonging to a certain cultural community is the free right of every person like people that freely declare who they are going to vote for. Talking about culture it is possible to mention that nowadays exist â€Å"material culture† that dictates its own ways and code of dressing. The liberation of culture off the borders made the cultural fashion developments increase dramatically. Wearing a cowboy hat may not be a sign of being from Texas, but a sign of political preference. For instance it is very easy to distinguish a European from a Hindu by the style of dressing or an Indian woman from an oriental woman by the distinctive spot on the forehead of an Indian woman and a veil worn by Moslem woman. Fashion has taken the best part of the traditional costumes of every culture and sometimes this leads to propagandizing a definite cultural group. Fashion and identity are inseparable companions. Fashion with all its symbolism and attributes form an outstanding base for personal and cultural identification. Identity is a necessary process of a healthy personality as it is a part of self-realization of a person that is so much required for finding a place in life of every person. Fashion has become a tool for achieving harmony with the inner world and a way of revealing or concealing peculiarities. Fashion possesses a specific meaning and the more diverse is the society around us the more fashion-trend will appear and surprise us. As long as it does not hurt people around fashion symbols are acceptable, nevertheless while thinking about fashion and identity it is necessary to remember the ethical side of the issue. Fashion and identity through it still remains a twofold issue but there are a lot of positive aspects one can enjoy and share with other people. Reference Page Barnard, M. (2002.) Fashion As Communication. Psychology Press: 11New Fetter Lane, †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦London EC4P. Brandley, H. (1997.) New rainments of self African American clothing in the antebellum ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,South. Oxford New York Berg: pill, ports. Corrigan, P. (1995). The dressed society clothing, the body and some meanings of the hahaahahhaa world. London Thousands Oaks, Calif: SAGE ublicayions. David, G. & Diener, E. (1994) â€Å"The Fashioned Body† Scientific American. [PDF document,] †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Retrieved from: http://www.fichier-pdf.fr/2010/12/27/0060744863/ Dilman, I. (1982) â€Å"Fashion Desire and Anxiety† Journal of design ethics. [PDF document] †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Retrieved from: http://jme.bmj.com/ Sasson, R. (2010) â€Å"Fashion Theory.† Success Consciousness . Retrieved from: †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.http://www.successconsciousness.com/index_00001f.htm