The Feasibility of Dried Tobacco Leaves as a Pesticide Against Cockroaches

THE FEASIBILITY OF DRIED TOBACCO LEAVES AS A PESTICIDE AGAINST COCKROACHESChapter I Abstract Tobacco plants  nowadays are very much needed and demanded by most of our dear consumers especially farmer and now that we are facing an intense economic crisis, and with that mere situation, the primary necessities which are very much needed by man in order for him to survive his daily living are now of higher prices compared to the last couple of years and that includes the demanding need and use of the liquefied petroleum gas or LPG. Because of the fact that this difficult situation happens, most of our dear consumers really do prefer using alternative briquettes for their different cooking purposes. The purpose of this study is to be able to produce a low-cost, attainable and alternative briquette. The researcher really wants to know if banana peelings can be a good source of briquettes. The researcher gathered all the materials needed in conducting the said experiment like the banana peelings, scratched papers, water, measuring cup, knife, platform balance, scissors, molders, matches, pen, and paper and conducted the said experiment step by step. Then the researcher came up with the results that the molder with water, banana peelings and papers showed the longest time of fire resistance after being lit. Therefore, using banana peelings as a source of briquettes is effective and through this, awe can be able to produce a low-cost, attainable and alternative source of briquette. The researcher recommended further study and other sources of fruit peelings. Background Of The Study The tobacco plant is a very popular material because it is one of the ingredients in making cigarettes. Tobacco is a herbaceous plant widely cultivated for it's leaves, which are rolled into cigars and also used in making pipes, process for chewing or grinding into pieces or snuff. Some commercial used tobacco leaves as one of its components. The tobacco plant is coarse, fast growing plant with a simple cylindrical stem from 4 to 8 ft. in length, growing from central taproots. Tobacco leaves has â€Å"nicotine†, a poisonous, colorless, oily, liquid, alkaloid with a very acid taste. Thus, making this a good pesticide against termites and many other insects. Pesticide are widely used nowadays by means of killing and controlling insects and other pests With this study, the researchers want to find out if the dried tobacco leaves is feasible as a pesticide Thus, helping them to avail and make this pesticide at home with less or cheaper money, time and effort. Statement Of The Problem This study aims to test whether the dried tobacco leaves is feasible as an pesticide. This is because tobacco plant is abundant here in the Philippines. The process in making this insecticide is simple and much cheaper than the commercial pesticide because its just a home- made pesticide. There are two set- ups in this study, which will use: dried tobacco leaves ( thinly sliced ), water, mortar and pestle and a spray container. This study aims to answer the following questions: 1. )What is in the tobacco leaves that it is feasible as a pesticide? 2. )Is the dries tobacco leaves effective as a pesticide? HYPOTHESES 1. )The tobacco leaves has nicotine which is an effective component in killing cockroaches. 2. )The dried tobacco leaves is effective as a pesticide against cockroaches. Significance Of The Study Nowadays, human beings make many inventions, for the betterment of human life. One of this, is the pesticide . This is to prevent insects from causing damage to may crops and other plants. Some insects are considered to be pests because it really causes damage to many farmlands. And also many pesticide are expensive. This study helps the Filipino people especially the farmers in making a home- made pesticide which is less expensive, and easy to make and you'll only exert less effort. Scope and Limitation This study tries to focus only in knowing if the dried tobacco leaves is feasible as a pesticide in killing insects especially cockroaches. Definition of Terms Tobacco Plant- is an herbaceous plant, widely cultivated for its leaves, which are rolled into cigars and also used in making pipes, process for chewing or grinding into pieces or snuff. * Nicotine- a poisonous, colorless, oily, liquid, alkaloid with a very acid taste. * Cockroach-  (or simply â€Å"roaches†) are  insects  of the order  Blattaria. This name derives from the  Latin  wor d for â€Å"cockroach†,  blatta. Chapter II Review Of Related Literature Cockroaches live in a wide range of environments around the world. Pest species of cockroaches adapt readily to a variety of environments, but prefer warm conditions found within buildings. Many tropical species prefer even warmer environments and do not fare well in the average household. The spines on the legs were earlier considered to be sensory, but observations of their locomotion on sand and wire meshes has demonstrated that they help in locomotion on difficult terrain. The structures have been used as inspiration for robotic legs. Cockroaches are most common in tropical and  subtropical  climates. Some species are in close association with human dwellings and widely found around garbage or in the kitchen. Cockroaches are generally  omnivorouswith the exception of the  wood-eating genus  Cryptocercus; these roaches are incapable of digestingcelluloseprotozoans  and  bacteria  that digest the cellulose, allowing them to extract the nutrients. themselves, but have symbiotic relationships with variousTobacco  is an  agricultural  product processed from the fresh  leaves  of plants in the genus  Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as an organic pesticide, and in the form of nicotinetartrate  it is used in some medicines. [1]  In consumption it may be in the form of  smoking,  chewing,  snuffing,dipping tobacco, or  snus. Tobacco has long been in use as an  entheogen  in the Americas. However, upon the arrival of  Europeans  in North America, it quickly became popularized as a trade item and as a recreational drug. This popularization led to the development of the southern economy of the  United States  until it gave way to cotton. Following the  American Civil War, a change in demand and a change in labor force allowed for the development of the  cigarette. This new product quickly led to the growth of tobacco companies until the scientific controversy of the mid-1900s. Tobacco leaves has â€Å"nicotine†, a poisonous, colorless, oily, liquid, alkaloid with a very acid taste. Thus, making this a good pesticide against termites and many other insects. Pesticide are widely used nowadays by means of killing and controlling insects and other pests. A  pesticide  is a substance or mixture of substances used to kill a  pest. [1]  A pesticide may be a  chemicalpest. Pests include  insects, plant  pathogens, weeds,  molluscs,  birds,  mammals,  fish, nematodes (roundworms) and  microbesthat compete with humans for food, destroy property, spread or are a  vector  for disease or cause a nuisance. Although there are benefits to the use of pesticides, there are also drawbacks, such as potential toxicity to humans and other animals. Thus dried tobacco leaves can be an effective pesticide against cockroaches. It has a foul smell that cockroaches don't like. If they smelled this foul smell, they will eventually die afterwards because it has nicotine which is poisonous. ( http://en. wikipidia. org/wiki/cockroaches/tobacco/pesticide Chapter III Methodology Materials and Equipment: In this study , the researcher  will be  needing 500g of dried tobacco leaves ( thinly- sliced ), 200  mL. f water , mortar and pestle , and a spray container . With this materials ,the researcher will be able to conduct the experiment . Procedure: The researcher will gather all the materials needed for the experiment . The dried tobacco leaves will be crush by the use of the mortar and pestle. 200  mL. of water will be added . Shake and mix the solution thoroughly . The solution will be put inside the spray container. Then it will be sprayed on cockroaches. The cockroaches will be put inside a closed box container and will be observed for 24 hours. Testing , observation and recording of data will follow . CHAPTER IV Results and Discussions A. Findings [pic] The table above is the summary of the three-replicated experiments. The researcher observed that container A has always the longest fire resistance compared to container B which was with water, banana peels but without papers and to container C which is the controlled group. In trial 3, the fire resistance lasted longer tan in trials 1 and 2, respectively. It shows that the amount of banana peels is made constant in order for the experiment ti be fair. B. Analysis Of Data he banana peelings have the advantage in terms of the measured fire resistance. The banana peelings mixed with water and papers measured 200 seconds while the banana peelings with water but without papers measured 104 seconds and the water with papers but without banana peelings measured 96. 3 seconds. CHAPTER V CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION Conclusion After conducting the experiment, the dried tobacco plant can be a good pesticide against cockroaches. And with that , it can minimized the consumers expenses in buying commercial pesticides. Recommendation The researcher highly recommend further study in the project especially to the use of other dried tobacco leaves.

Types of Chinese Masks

The origins of Chinese masks are rooted in ancient religious shamanism. Over the centuries and many generations, artists refined the use of colors on Chinese masks. Today, color continues to be used to indicate emotions or give clues about the identity of a character. Types of Chinese Masks There are several types of Chinese masks: dancer's masks, masks for festive occasions, masks for newborns, masks designed to keep homes safe and theatrical masks. When used on the stage, masks help viewers determine, at a glance, the attributes of a theatrical character.Masks are usually made from wood. However, Chinese opera masks, possibly the style that is best known in the west, are actually painted on actors' faces. Color Meanings Many colors are used in any given Chinese mask, but the dominant colors impart specific characteristics. Red used on masks indicates a positive character. Red can also mean prosperity, loyalty, courage and heroism. Red shows intelligence and bravery. Purple is somet imes used as a substitute for red. In its own right, purple can represent justice and sophistication. Black means that the character is neutral.Black also indicates impartiality and integrity. Blue faces are also an indication of neutrality. In addition, blue can show stubbornness, astuteness and fierceness. Green shows that the character is violent, impulsive and lacks restraint. Yellow tells the audience that the character is cruel. Yellow can also mean evil, hypocritical, ambitious or sly. White faces indicate that the character is evil and hypocritical. Gold and silver show the audience that the character is a god or a demon. The character also may be a ghost or a spirit. Gold and silver symbolize mystery.

Comparative Study of Visible Light Spectra Emitted

One discrepancy is that according to the table above, LED must be the most saturated, this is not the case for the experiment, however, due to the age of the device and its degenerated bulbs one of the major faults of first generation LED displays Another part of the objectives of the study was to compare the light spectra with respect to different colors as well as brightness the group initially tried altering the intensity Of the light sources to see if changing the intensity would cause a significant difference in the observations.The only difference found by increasing (or decreasing) the light intensity was that the visible light spectrum was brighter (or dimmer). No other characteristic of the visible light spectrum changes. 4. Conclusion Given the characteristics based on the grabs standard, it is apparent that the monitor with the most accurate color reproduction is the PIPS screen followed by the LED and lastly the Retina. Color reproduction can be concluded to be directly r elated to the width of the white light spectra produced by the screens; the wider the spectra the more accurate the color reproduction. TheLED not matching the literature for having the most saturated display of color is because of the degenerated bulbs that is a common problem for first generation LED screens. The resolution, on the other hand, did not seem to affect the visible light spectra. Comparing the light spectra with different brightness does not vary the results; it only contributes to the brightness or dimness of the spectra. In future experiments, some of the improvements considered are finding a more standardized color application, using a more advanced spectrometer, and comparing newer devices.

Comparative Business Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Comparative Business Systems - Essay Example German’s economic condition entails a service sector, which offers a contribution of 70% of GDP and industry sector that offers 29.1% contribution, while the agricultural sector offers 0.9% (Mundi, 2010, 3). Brazil’s Gross Domestic Product has grown from 7.5% in 2010 to 2.7% 2011, and despite to the global hold back, the domestic market in Brazil have become strong, hence reducing vulnerability to the external crisis (The World Bank Group, 2012, 1). Conversely, Germany attracts foreign investors by providing an open market without restrictions to operate any business (Pugh and Hickson, 2007, 20). Therefore, the citizens of Germany and Brazil are benefiting from the stability of their economic growth, with relatively low inflation rate and improved social well-being (Chandler, 1984, 473). This paper will focus on comparing the business systems in Brazil and Germany. On the other hand, in Brazil there are limits of potential growth and significant advances in the economy, which are attributed to institutional reforms, noninflationary growth that is derailed by barriers, regulation and insufficiency in infrastructure and poor business climate (Jimenez, Gomez Sabaini and Podesta, 2010, 38). However, the condition is better in Germany, since the government has established necessary reforms to improve their economic conditions (Hall and Soskice, 2001, 36). Quality of Brazilian government services concerning the expenditure is relatively lower than other middle-income countries, and country launched a growth acceleration plan in 2007, which focused on increasing investment in infrastructure, and offering tax incentives to facilitate economic growth (Whitley, 2007, 30). In Germany, people are taxed on their income, especially individual residents; in fact, income tax rate have a range of 15% to 45% during the year 2010. Furthermore, Germany presented an initial general tax-free amount of 8,004 Euros during the year 2010 and 16,008 Euros for people, who ar e not married; thus, Germany has subjected corporation to 15% corporate income tax and a solidarity surcharge of 5.5% and it results to an entire rate of 15.8% (Mundi, 2010, 5). In Brazil, the plan led to a 7.5 % growth in 2010, and resilience to the crisis experienced in 2009, and insignificant recession among developed and emerging economies in 2011 (OECD, 2011, 4). Role of the National State in the Economy German’s economic condition has contributed significantly to production based on engineering; for instance, there is production of automobiles, machinery, metals and chemical products. Moreover, Germany has been renowned manufactures of wind turbines and solar power technologies (Mundi, 2010, 7). In fact, this country offers the largest international trade fairs every year; in fact, this congress has been held severally in cities such as Hanover, Frankfurt, and Berlin. On the other hand, the growth in Brazil has facilitated challenges, whereby the country is anticipating hosting the World Cup in 2014 and Olympics Games, in 2016, hence this is requiring significant investment in urban and social development, and transport infrastructure. Moreover, Brazil has experienced substantial regional differences in the social indicators like health, infant mortality and nutrition (Morgan, Campbell, Crouch, Pedersen and

Instruction Memo Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Instruction Memo - Essay Example The memo does not sufficiently tell why the action was considered valid in the first place. 2. The memo fails to mention the basis on which Amazon Services was actually selected. In most cases, such services require someone who has far-reaching knowledge of the vessel and must have provided similar in the recent past or offered the opportunity under competitive procedures. 3. A clear statement of any clearances as well as approvals received for the procurement action considered unauthorized, including the names and titles of the people who ratified the contract. In this case, none of these statements is provided or directions indicating that it is attached. In this case, nothing is actually mentioned, so it leaves people quizzing who actually was aware or who sanctioned the procurement action. In fact, what comes out looks like the author also participated in the process only to rescind upon realizing it would cost a lot. a. On Thursday, July 20, 2010 research vessel suffered a shattering failure to the starboard diesel engine and associated running gear. The starboard main engine overheated causing damage to the associated running gear; shaft, propeller, bearings and rudders. This failure rendered the vessel unable to operate in a safe manner and emergency repairs were required. b. Operations Coordinator determined that emergency drydock repairs were necessary and contracted Amazon Services. The vessel was safely stored for the weekend since the work would not commence until Monday, July 24, 2010 to surmise the extent of the damages and give an estimate for repair. c. A contracted captain for the vessel was appointed to oversee the repair in my absence. However, upon further inspection of the vessel, we discovered that the amount that has been agreed is too

Rhetorical Essay about the book SULA by Toni Morrison

Rhetorical about the book SULA by Toni Morrison - Essay Example Overall, the story revolves around Nel and Sula and how their friendship transforms over years. The main arguments presented include those regarding friendship, faithfulness, disloyalty, and forgiveness. Over time, the forms of friendship are shown to change. Initially, the book presents Nel and Sula to be very good friends. Nel is brought up by her mother so that she is well mannered and an obedient daughter. Nel does not like the way her mother treats her. It is mentioned in the book that Nel likes Sula’s house better as her mother is not scolding or screaming at her (Morrison 29). On the other hand, Sula does not like her mother as she sleeps with other men, and doubts her mother even likes her. One day Sula finds out her mother does not like her either. She feels sad and channels her grievance to Nel whom she feels really close to. In an attempt to be someone different than her mother – who sleeps around with many different married men – Sula eventually becom es more like her mother later on. Sula did not like her mother’s attitude and talks to Nel about it. After Nel gets married to Jude, Sula leaves the Bottom and returns after years. Initially, it seems as if Sula is very happy to meet her again and they are good friends until Nel finds Sula and her husband cheating on her. Nel who already has three children from Jude is extremely sad at seeing her very good friend with her husband. Jude decides to leave Nel after being caught with Sula (Morrison 105). Nel feels devastated and feels like crying, but the way she had been brought up does not allow her to show her emotions openly. The way Nel and Sula’s friendship slides as a result of the sudden change in Sula’s personality after years seems hurtful and illustrates the impermanence of friendship. Another argument made is that regarding betrayal and disloyalty not only in the conventional sense but also inadvertently happening and resulting in the characters getting hurt. Betrayal is obvious at various places. After Sula hears her mother saying that she does not like her, she feels said and betrayed. Her communication with Nel is good and she is able to share her thoughts with Nel. Nel and Sula had always been really good friends and after Sula returns 20 years later to the Bottom, Nel seems to be betrayed by Sula for being selfish and taking her husband away from her. Later, when Sula dies, Nel feels guilty of not having been a good friend and not having understood Sula. The story ends with a grieving Nel who finally forgives Sula. In another part of the book, Nel and Sula experience the death of a little boy named Chicken Little. Both Nel and Sula were swinging Chicken Little by the river when his hand slipped and he went underwater (Morrison 170). In a desperate need for help, Sula runs to Shadrack, but all he has to say is â€Å"always.† She gets afraid and both girls decide not to tell anyone about what happened. Sula feels guilty, but Nel reassures her that it was not her fault but was merely an accident. However, Sula seems to have taken the blame, and this causes her to change for good. Years after Sula’s death, Nel goes to visit her grandmother who says that she saw Nel letting Chicken Little drown. Sula’s grandmother blames both of them for his death. Later Nel does realize that it was really her fault as she enjoyed watching him drown rather than

Influnce of Confucianism on Ancient China Society Essay

Influnce of Confucianism on Ancient China Society - Essay Example Based on his teachings, China later on went on to develop Confucianism, an ethical and philosophical system, which preaches about the importance of morality and other virtues like righteousness and honesty in one’s life (Lefande, pp. 1–10). People often refer to Confucianism as a religion since many people employ it as a sound ideology in their lives and govern their actions and decisions according to it. This ethical system or religion promoted a society where every person prioritizes the advancement of his or her personal virtue. Selflessness and honesty are amongst the few characteristics, which Confucianism holds in high esteem and promotes as ideals necessary for a healthy flourishing society. It believes that the best individual is the most ethically and morally sound individual (Hoobler and Hoobler, pp. 60). The influence of these teachings were spread widely even outside China. â€Å"They influenced the cultures and governments of Taiwan, Vietnam, Korea, Japan, and several other East Asian countries† (Lefande, pp. 1–10). This influence lasted centuries after the era of Confucius, and are venerated by people all over the world even now. However, to understand the true effect of Confucianism, one must analyze the effect it had on East Asia in the centuries that immediately followed the era of Confucius. The Influences on Society and Government One of the main reasons why Confucianism was so influential among East Asia was because it was based on ancient Chinese values, which are respected and in some cases shared by other countries in East Asia (Lefande, pp. 1–10). These include the mandate of heaven, veneration of ancestors, spirits, and rituals which China’s cultural heritage is based upon. Also, since it promoted a virtuous character for all people, not matter what stage of life they were at, it gained popularity as the people saw it as a reasonable system according to which they could live. People belonging to higher tiers of society would use the principles taught by Confucianism such as loyalty, honesty, and selflessness to boost their image in the public as well as to train them in order to gain positions in the government. This affected the government, as the people wishing to become a part of it would do so by improving themselves on moral grounds, thus making themselves examples for others to follow and desirable leaders (Lefande, pp. 1–10). This also had a similar effect on lower rungs of society, such as peasants and farmers. The principles of morality and virtue also became famous amongst them as they learned that following these principles was beneficial to them not only on an individual and on a family level, but also immensely improved the society as a whole. With such desirable results and influences, this religion quickly spread over China as well as several other East Asian countries. It was so well adapted into the culture of the Chinese that even today; the Chines e have taken their culture with them. Places dominated by a Chinese population such as Singapore also stand heavily influenced by the teachings of Confucianism today. Another way in which Confucianism had a major effect on government as well as society of China was through its promotion of education. According to the principles taught by Confucius, it helped polish the character of a person if he or she gained a proper education. This was one of the

Advertisement Techniques Used in a Nivea Visage DNAge Cell Renewal Essay

Advertisement Techniques Used in a Nivea Visage DNAge Cell Renewal Cream Print Ad - Essay Example Some advertisements are even used in movies through the form of covert advertisements. Current trends in product lines are leaning towards skin care and health products that claim to offer its consumers the technological and innovative breakthrough in science that is capable of maintaining youthfulness and eliminating the signs of aging. Several anti-ageing products are available in the market, each of which employs different advertising strategies to pursued consumers to try their products. This paper will mainly focus on a print ad released by the Nivea for the advertising campaign of its brand of anti-ageing cream, the Nivea DNAge cell renewal cream. The paper will employ a contextual analysis of the advertisement aiming to examine the techniques used and discuss the textual and visual arguments that are implied by the ad. Analysis on how the ad creates meaning through language, typography, colour and image will be observed. The target market of the product, as well as its represe ntation of gender, class, race and age will also be determined. Language techniques are used in advertisements to target a specific sector of consumers. Skin care products, specifically anti-aging products, tend to capture western and oriental consumers through the use of specific keywords that can gain the interests of individuals. By analysing the details of the Nivea Visage DNAge cell renewal cream, shown in Figure 1, it can be inferred that the language techniques of using personal pronoun, jargon, and repetition was used (Lapsanska 2006). The large text in the advertisement, presented as OUR REVOLUTION IN ANTI-AGEING, uses the personal pronoun Our. Pronouns such as I, me, my, you, yours, your, we, us, our, they, them and their are commonly used in advertisements to address the reader. This technique has the effect of placing the readers in a particle position that they are part of the product, encouraging them to purchase and try the product. Using personal pronouns exploits th e fact that skin care products are personal items and by associating them with the readers, a relationship is built between that can result to a higher chance of persuasion. For instance, the use of Our in the DNAge advertisement establishes a relationship to readers that suggests an affirmation of trust with the product (Lapsanska 2006). In addition, personal pronouns can also be used as a conjunction to other language techniques including imperatives, emotive words and slogans. This is shown in Figure 1 as the bulleted texts in the lower part of the image. Emotive words and slogans tend to suggest to the readers that they have the power against aging and can also be used to reinforce the fear of aging by suggesting words such as Firms and reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles and Reduces damage caused by external influences. The success of this type of technique is that the readers’ emotional appeals are being directly involved with the language of the advertisem ent (Lapsanska 2006). Jargons are mainly used in advertisement to generate supporting details for the product that is associated with logic and evidence. This technique provides the readers a notion that the product has scientific backing. The brand name Nivea’s anti-aging cream uses an approach of neologism, by combining the terms DNA for Deoxyribonucleic Acid and Age. This suggests to readers that the formulation of the product is highly scientific and that it offers treatment for problems related to aging. By using the term DNA, the product projects a tone of professionalism and thus making it seem more reliable

The perception as a heart of art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The perception as a heart of art - Essay Example This research will be required philosophy of art and aesthetics inside artwork as well as the scholastic discussion, which relate with visual perception, cognitive science and cognitive psychology outside artwork, and some experiments composed of ongoing low-relief canvas work and others, which can provide diverse features of surface. Through this methodology, It will be questioned what is the position of artwork and medium as a visual signifying process and how this 'documental surface' can be reflected into the two-dimensional artwork. Art has been a focal point for a variety of cultures since the history of time. It is an expression of how a race or a group of people perceive themselves in relation with the world around them. In this context, an important premise remains the fact that art is born from within and from influences that come from the outside. This paper is based on the fact that western culture has had an immense influence on the way art is perceived. A bench in a park well reveals the relation between simple visual response and recognition. Although this is actually made of stone, with a texture, color, pattern and other characteristics of real wood, it can be perceived as a wooden chair. Therefore, in some points of view, perceiving something as a wooden is taking the 'documental surface' 1 connected to internal value of wood. This pattern of accepting process converted with visual and perceptible feature generally and flexibly at the same time. Similarly, they indicate how artworks have been applying to the limitation, which has similarity between making and recognizing artwork. Recently noticeable thing is that certain interactional participation is distinguishing in this kind of visual specialty. These positions can be exemplified by the following premises. Conventionalizing information such as image, event and phenomena visually is natural formulation, and it appears characteristic connected to the conventional process and method. Additionally, these information are accepted by diverse medium which can observe something instead of direct eye and can be explained better by 'external characteristics' 2 of media itself. Lastly, these two features- conventionalization of information and surface feature of media compositely participate in making artwork and conversely interact as well. Background of Study It is said that the way something is built has a large bearing on how it is perceived. In the case of art, the use of mass media has accentuated the play of technology to the extent that the very way that an art form is conceptualised depends on the factors that are a part of the culture surrounding it. Since 1985, the play of mass media has begun on a note that has created the scope to create art beyond what has been seen in the conventional sense. The rise of technology has been accentuated by the west. Technology has come from the west and is associated with the west. Thus, an important premise here is that most of world sees western culture as an amalgamation of technology along with an ethic that is associated with the same. (Brown, 2005; P 2 - 6) Communication forms in the form of electronic, print and other media has had a major role in

Management of Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Management of Technology - Essay Example Retail industry, because of its optimum development has been incorporating technologies in various facets of its functioning. One of the key technologies that is being sizably used is Radio Frequency Identification (RFID for short), which tracks and locates products through organisation’s supply chain using some hardware. Organisations are ‘structures’ with number of individuals doing their allocated work to accomplish set goals. Thus, the implementation of RFID in an organisation will mostly not be an individual’s decision and inputs, instead various parts of the organisation has to work in cohesion, with organisations and its management taking decisions to make the RFID function effectively. On these lines, many retail companies are implementing RFID in their operations. So, this paper will first focus on Rogers’ and other experts’ perspectives or ideas of technology diffusion. Then will discuss the origins and functioning of the RFID Techno logy and how diffusion process is applicable to this technology. Finally, the paper focusing on the retail sector and retail companies will critically evaluate RFID’s diffusion process using the literature review, and concluding with recommendations for further improvement to the literature and the development of future technologies. The technological and the innovation perspectives of diffusion got established in 1960’s, in the aftermath of Everett Rogers’ book, Diffusion of Innovations. Rogers focused on how innovation or technology got diffused or infiltrated into the society through various channels. Rogers defined diffusion as â€Å"the process in which an innovation is communicated thorough certain channels over time among the members of a social system† (Rogers 1983, p.5). It was Everett Rogers and its diffusion model which was widely accepted in various fields. The process of

Effects of Music Therapy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Effects of Music Therapy - Research Paper Example Multiple effects to a patient result from music playback during surgery in the operating room, as it helps him to calm down and yield to the application of anesthesia just before the commencement of surgery. In this case, music tends t calm down normally tense and nervous patients when the use of anesthesia fails. It also works in terms of providing a positive atmosphere for the patient to think positively about the forthcoming surgery and the likely outcomes (Nilsson n.d.). Furthermore, on calming down a patient, it allows the patient to relax by acting as a form of distraction from the fear of undergoing surgery, pain and anxiety. This way, playing music in the operating room helps patients cope with pain and the accompanying feeling of being in a strange environment. These concept works together with the earlier concept of a positive environment. This is because the application of music cuts back on the focus towards other likely events and feelings and directs them to music and i ts impact. This is rather than focusing on pain, fear and frustration, but more on the healing process and a positive outcome. In addition, the issue of experience, for the patient, comes up in regard to the use of music in surgery. This concerns patient satisfaction during surgery due to anxiety and its interaction with anesthesia. In this case, music eliminates, by a large percentage, any discomfort caused by induction of anesthesia and recovery of the patient during an operation as it. Moreover, since anxiety works adversely on patients during and after an operation, applying music during and before an operation, improves the rate of recovery in a patient and decreases, substantially, the occurrence of pain and delayed recovery after surgery (Arslan et al. 2007). Still on patient experience during surgery, music plays a key role towards improving it, as hearing ability during surgery and under general anesthesia remains active. In this regard, a patient remains conscious of the a udio on goings in the operating room environment thus, the use of music drowns out all other sounds (Nilsson, n.d.). This way, the patient is only able to concentrate on music and its positive impact such elation in mood, elimination of anxiety and induction of relaxation. In addition, music and interactions with regional anesthesia work towards the good of the patient in relation to dosage. This is because application of music during surgery lowers the need for sedatives to quell pain and induce sleep. In addition, studies show that playing music in the operating room during surgery displays substantial impact on the consumption of opioid analgesics, in that the dose rate decreases dramatically (Iblher et al. 2011). Music also lowers the amount of cortisol levels in the blood meaning that, in surgery, it reduces the amount of stress in a patient. This occurs by brightening up the patient and soothing offering a pleasurable auditory stimulus. Playing music prior to surgery yield eve n better result as compared to during and after surgery, thus preference in music playback is before. However, the music used determines the effects in that to lower stress; sedative music is preferred as it has a slow tempo and smooth tempo, thus the effectiveness in lowering anxiety and stress (Arslan et al. 2007). In addition, music plays a crucial role in surgery by influencing the nervous system through entraining body rhythms to decrease the activity

Chem Answers Essay Example for Free

Chem Answers Essay Exercise 1. What safety equipment is available to you while you do your experiments? How far are they from you while you are conducting your experiments?This includes fire extinguishers, phones, showers, etc. The safety equipment that I have access to while performing my experiments are as follows; shower, fire alarms and a telephone. They are all within ten feet from where the experiment will take place. 2. What is an MSDS? MSDS is a document that is required by Osha’s â€Å"Hazard Communication† for all existing chemicals that are currently sold. 3. What can make glassware unusable? Glassware is unusable in an experiment when it is chipped, broken, or cracked. 4. When should you wear goggles in the lab? You should wear safety goggles at all time. 5. How long should you wash your eyes if you get a chemical in them? If you have contact with chemicals in your eye, it should be rinsed for ten minutes. 6. What should you do if your clothing catches on fire? If your clothes should catch on fire during your experiment, you should use the safety shower if you have one. Otherwise, stop-drop-roll and yell or use a fire blanket. 7. How should you heat the liquid in a test tube to a temperature less than 100 C? If you are heating liquid in a test tube to a temperature less than 100 degrees. You should use a test tube holder, clamp and hot water. 8.   What do the following symbols mean? DangerousOxidizerRadioactiveCorrosive ________________ _________________ _______________ ______________ 9. What does each of the small diamonds in the NFPA fire diamond mean? Blue- Health section Red- Flammability Yellow- Reactivity White- Special condition 10. Why should you remove jewelry prior to entering the lab for an experiment? Jewelry should always be removed prior to an experiment. Rings can trap the chemical that you are working with against the skin. Necklaces can dangle and knock dangerous chemical over. 11. What type of clothing should you wear in lab? The type of clothing that you should wear would be; leather shoes, long pants or skirts, sturdy cotton fabric, and older clothes are advised. 12. If your Bunsen burner goes out or you smell gas, what should you do? If you should be working with a Bunsen burner and the flame should extinguish or you smell gas, turn the gas off.

Analysis of the Politics of Problem Definition

Analysis of the Politics of Problem Definition INTRODUCTION Comprehending the pros and cons of issues becoming public problems is the clue to understanding the course of action and agenda setting. In the American system there are issues such as poverty, equity, violence, substance abuse, etc. which continuously encroaches on the system but only few can be regarded as public problems and become a consideration for public agenda. Factors like expansion of participation and issue characteristics are liable for a problem to become public. The study assesses the problem definition process using a threshold model of collective behavior. This is based critically on an individual’s threshold of abstinence from the conditions across society. Expectation of the number of individuals who have already crossed the threshold or are likely to cross it influences the inclination of individuals to cross the non-acceptance threshold. To comprehend this, a theoretical framework to the sexual harassment problem and Clarence Thomas Supreme Court nomination hearings has been utilized. It has been tested with factual data for statistical assessment to an array of collective behavior. THE PROCESS OF PROBLEM DEFINITION A multitude of conditions such as pollution, hunger, smoking and child abuse have plagued America through time but there has been no public disclosure to define them as problem. Therefore a divorce prevails between objective conditions and problem definitions. Citizens assess conditions at individual levels. Social influences, values, culture and norms cause an individual to have a neutral or favorable response to the existing conditions. Understanding of objective costs, benefits of a particular condition can vary in individuals and are evaluated accordingly. When the costs of tolerating the conditions become ample, an individual will cross the threshold of public non-acceptance. GRAPHICAL ANALYSIS The graphical representation of the threshold model is used to understand collective behavior. Here, p = individual’s expectation of the proportion of the population that fails to publicly oppose the condition Oi = private assessment of the condition based on the ratio of costs to benefit plus costs of the condition. The private assessment is Oi and expected social non acceptance (1-p). The heavy line represents the threshold at which individuals with different costs and expectations of social non-acceptance are precisely indifferent between publicly accepting versus non-accepting the condition. The space to the left indicates individuals publicly accepting the condition and the right expresses non-acceptance. In fig. 1 individuals who privately assess the costs of the condition move to public non-acceptance only if they have expectations that the proportion of social non-acceptance is greater. When Oi=1, proportion of (1-p) is greater than 0.40 and when Oi=0.75, proportion of (1-p) is larger than 0.50. If media educate the public about the costs and benefits of the conditions there will be changed problem definition. As individuals alter their private evaluations, the slope of the function representing the distribution of threshold, changes. In fig.2 if Oi=0.75 then (1-p) exceeds 0.30 and when Oi=0.50 expected (1-p) exceeds to 0.50 to oppose the condition. The media makes the setting more useful to changing problem definition by changing the distribution of thresholds for individuals. In fig.3 a cumulative density function of social non acceptance (the dashed line) is superimposed onto the threshold function depicted earlier. The upper horizontal axis indicates actual social non-acceptanc e after cost benefit evaluations. This diagram implies that there is wide gap between private cost-benefit assessment and public positions. The stable equilibria level indicated may alter to change in factual data made available by media, political leaders. Problem reevaluation occurs in an interspersed manner due to the swift shift from point of equilibria to another. Testing the applicability of such models is difficult because of exact data requirements aggregate data may be used to analyze to crossing of the threshold levels of non-acceptance. The importance of the feedback mechanism has also been indicated. SEXUAL HARRASSMENT AND THE CLARENCE THOMAS SUPREME COURT NOMINATION HEARING The feminist movements in the late 1970s termed the exploitation of women by men in the workplace as sexual harassment. This was emphasized by women’s groups who started to educate and garner their support. Statistics reveal that prior to the Clarence Thomas Supreme Court nomination hearings; sexual harassment in workplace was common in America. The Thomas nomination hearings in September and October 1991 drastically altered the political scenario on the issue of sexual harassment. Thomas, a conservative African American, a member of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia was nominated as a Justice of the Supreme Court. The Senate Judiciary Committee held eight days of hearing on the nomination. The nomination was sent to the full Senate without a recommendation. Prior to the scheduled vote, the National Public Radio broadcasted a story that spread rapidly. Anita Hill, a colleague of Thomas alleged sexual harassment against him. Intense pressure from public group s and interests culminated in the postponement schedules votes to investigate charges. Since the hearings were televised nationally, Americans became more educated and aware of the issue. The hearing ended with public opinion swaying in Thomas’ direction and he was confirmed by a narrow margin as a Supreme Court Justice. Simultaneously it was a failure of the women’s movement to remedy the issue of sexual harassment and it would be tolerated and those making the allegations failed to produce change. The focus on the issue enhanced citizen mobilization enhanced. The EEOC data showed equilibrium prior to the hearing. The increase in the number of charges filed corresponded with the timings of the hearing. It was evident that a new higher equilibrium of charges filed was attained. Thus, the cascading process denoted in fig. 3 was at work since there was inertial movement to a new equilibrium. There was no feedback prior or after the hearing. Before the hearings increased prior charges and successes resulted in fewer new charges. This suggests that negative feedback maintained the pre intervention equilibrium. After the hearings increased prior charges and successes produced new charges and successes. This suggests a cascading effect to the new equilibrium. Before the hearings and enhance media attention to sexual harassment actually produced few charges but after the hearings the effect of the media attention on new charges had a dynamic escalation. CONCLUSION This analysis has amalgamated the individual evaluation of costs and benefits with data and social forces resulting in a dynamic change in collective behavior which is best illustrated by using threshold model of collective behavior and distribution of individuals’ thresholds of non-acceptance on the conditions in society. The application of this was explained through the Thomas Supreme Court Nomination hearings. Focus of media and public resulted in more charges, more successes and increase of media attention. Thus in conclusion it can be said that is there is a pre-existing condition that many find privately costly, with widespread public acceptance, the system is ready for a metamorphosis. Since there is a multitude of such conditions prevalent in America at one time and disturbances are likely to occur and changes in the American political system will be present always. Reference Dan Wood, B., Doan, A. (2003). The politics of problem definition: applying and testing threshold models.American Journal of Political Science,47(4), 640-653.

Argon Cluster and Graphene Collision Simulation Experiment

Argon Cluster and Graphene Collision Simulation Experiment Formation of Nanopore in a Suspended Graphene Sheet with Argon Cluster Bombardment: A Molecular Dynamics Simulation study Abstract: Formation of a nanopore in a suspended graphene sheet using an argon gas beam was simulated using molecular dynamics (MD) method. The Lennard-Jones (LJ) two-body potential and Tersoff–Brenner empirical potential energy function are applied in the MD simulations for different interactions between particles. The simulation results demonstrated that the incident energy and cluster size played a crucial role in the collisions. Simulation results for the Ar55 –graphene collisions show that the Ar55 cluster bounces back when the incident energy is less than 11ev/atom, the argon cluster penetrates when the incident energy is greater than 14 ev/atom. The two threshold incident energies, i.e. threshold incident energy of defect formation in graphene and threshold energy of penetration argon cluster were observed in the simulation. The threshold energies were found to have relatively weak negative power law dependence on the cluster size. The number of sputtered carbon atoms is obtained as a function of the kinetic energy of the cluster. Keywords: Nanopore, Suspended graphene sheet, Argon cluster, Molecular dynamics simulation Introduction The carbon atoms in graphene condense in a honeycomb lattice due to sp2-hybridized carbon bond in two dimensions [1]. It has unique mechanical [2], thermal [3-4], electronic [5], optical [6], and transport properties [7], which leads to its huge potential applications in nanoelectronic and energy science [8]. One of the key obstacles of pristine graphene in nanoelectronics is the absence of band gap [9-10]. Theoretical studies have shown that chemical doping of graphene with foreign atoms can modulate the electronic band structure of graphene and lead to the metal to semiconductor transition and break the polarized transport degeneracy [11-12]. Also, computational studies have demonstrated that some vacancies of carbon atoms within the graphene plane could induce a band-gap opening and Fermi level shifting [13-14]. Graphene nanopores can have potential applications in various technologies, such as DNA sequencing, gas separation, and single-molecule analysis [15-16]. Generating sub-na nometer pores with precisely-controlled sizes is the key difficulty in the design of a graphene nanopore device. Several method have been employed to punch nanopores in graphene sheets, including electron beam from a transmission electron microscope (TEM) and heavy ion irradiation. Using electron beam technique, Fischbein et al.[17] drilled nanopores with the width of several nanometers and demonstrated that porous graphene is very stable; but, this method cannot be widely used because of its low efficiency and high cost. Russo et al. [18] used energetic ion exposure technique to create nanopores with radius as small as 3Ã…. S. Zhao et al. [19] indicated that energetic cluster irradiation was more effective in generating nanopores in graphene, because their much larger kinetic energy could be transferred to the target atoms. Recent experimental works have further confirmed that cluster irradiation is a feasible and promising way in the generation of nanopores [20]. Numerical simulations have demonstrated that, by choosing a suitable cluster species and controlling its energy, a nanopores of desired sizes and qualities can be fabricated in a graphene sheet [19]. A useful tool for studying the influence of different conditions of interactions between cluster and graphene on the formation of nanopore is numerical simulations utilizing molecular dynamics (MD) [21]. The results may be useful in explaining experimental results and predicting optimal conditions for desirable graphene nanopores. In this paper, MD simulations were performed for the collisions between an argon cluster and graphene. The phenomena of argon cluster–graphene collisions and mechanism of the atomic nanopore formation in graphene were investigated. Effects of cluster size on the threshold incident energy of defect formation in graphene were also discussed. Molecular Dynamics Method MD simulations were performed for the collisions between an argon cluster and graphene. For present simulations we used an effective code LAMMPS stands for Large-scale Atomic/Molecular Massively Parallel Simulator, written by Sandia National Laboratories [22]. Length (along the X axis) of the graphene layer was 11 nm, its width (along the Y axis) was 10 nm, and each layer contained 3936 atoms. Periodic boundary conditions were applied to both lateral directions. In the simulation, the Tersoff–Brenner empirical potential energy function (PEF) was utilized to simulate the energy of covalent bonding between carbon atoms in the structure of graphene layer [23-24]. The initial configuration was fully relaxed before the collision simulations and the target temperature was maintained at 300 K. During the collision phase, a thermostat was applied to the borders of graphene. The Ar nanocluster was arranged by cutting a sphere from FCC bulk crystals, which had no initial thermal motion. The Ar cluster was initially located above the center of graphene at a sufficiently large distance so that there would be no interaction between the Ar and graphene atoms. Then, a negative translational velocity component, Vz, was assumed for each atom of the clusters. Incident angle of the argon cluster to the graphene normal was zero. Lennard-Jones (LJ) two-body potential was employed to simulate the interactions of Ar–Ar and Ar–C atoms. The form of LJ potentials was: (1) In the LJ potential, is the distance at which the potential is zero and is the depth of the potential well. Note that the constants were obtained from the mixing rules given by ÏÆ'ij = (ÏÆ'i+ÏÆ'j)/2 and Ô ij = (Ô iÔ j)1/2. The parameters for Ô  and ÏÆ' used in the present simulation are shown in Table 1[25]. Position of the atom was updated by the velocity Verlet algorithm with a time step of less than t = 0.5 fs. To reduce the calculation time, a cut-off length was introduced. The Van der Waals interaction of Ar-Ar and Ar-C atoms with the distance of 11A or above was neglected. Result Studying the effect of incident energy in ranging 1–120 ev/atom was chosen to demonstrate two distinctive phenomena: (i) Argon atoms were just reflected, and (ii) some argon atoms penetrated through graphene. Fig. 1 demonstrates the probabilities of reflection and penetration of the Ar55 cluster. Fig. 2 shows the snapshots of the deformation of the graphene sheet due to the collision with an Ar55 cluster in the case of the incident energy of less than 11ev. During the collision, graphene was bended in the circular region around the collision point and the transverse deflection wave was observed. After the collision, argon cluster was bursted into fragments. Fig. 3 shows the final atomic configurations resulted from the incidence of Ar55 cluster with the energy of 10 and 11 ev/atom. There were two possibilities for the structure of the graphene sheet after the collision: (i) the graphene was rippled after the collision and no damaged region was formed, this was observed in case of the incident energy of less than 11ev (Fig. 3(a)), and (ii) the collision caused defect in graphene (Fig. 3(b)). Fig. 4 shows that there were two possibilities for the structure of the graphene sheet after collision with an Ar55 cluster in the case of the incident energy of greater than 11 ev/atom: (i) the argon cluster penetrated into the graphene sheet without the sputtered carbon atoms (Fig. 4(a)), and (ii) the argon cluster penetrated into the graphene sheet with the sputtered carbon atoms (Fig. 4(b)). When the incident energy of argon cluster was 11ev/atom, atomic-scale defects such as Stone−Wales defect were formed in the graphene sheet (Fig. 3(b)). With the increase of the incident energy, these atomic defects began to get connected and finally a nanopore with carbon chains on the pore edge was created in graphene. The atomic carbon chains with unsaturated bonds thus provided the method for chemical functionalization of graphene nanopores in order to improve their separation ability and detection. For example, oxidation of packed multilayered graphene sheets was significantly perme able to water and impermeable to He, N2, Ar, and H2 [26]. Accordingly, it was necessary to introduce the concept of threshold incident energy of defect formation (Ed) in graphene and threshold energy (Ep) of penetration argon cluster in graphene. Fig. 5 shows the size dependence of each threshold incident energy. Thus, both Ed and Ep were supposed to be written in simple power-law equations: In Eq. (2), Ed(1) and Ep(1) indicate the threshold energy for argon atom, and N is cluster size. Power indices on N, ÃŽ ±, and ÃŽ ², mean the degree of non-linear effect. (2) Fig. 6 shows the final atomic configurations resulted from the incidence of Ar55 cluster with the energy of 14 , 15 ev/atom. By further increasing energy, the carbon chains became short and the pore edge became smooth we calculated the number of sputtered carbon atoms as a function of total incident energy, because the number of the sputtered carbon atoms was in correspondence to the area of nanopore in graphene. Fig. 7 shows the number of sputtered carbon atoms as a function of total cluster energy in the case of Ar19 and Ar55 cluster collision. For both cases, as the total energy increased, the number of sputtered carbon atoms increased. This result was in agreement with the previous study [27] .The number of sputtered carbon atoms can be approximated by a constant value for incident energy larger than 10 Kev. The cluster collision with large size led to higher the number of sputtered carbon atoms when all clusters had the same total cluster energy. Conclusions The phenomena of argon cluster–graphene collisions and mechanism of the atomic nanopore formation in suspended graphene sheet were investigated using molecular dynamics method. Summary of the obtained results is as follows: Threshold incident energy which caused defect formation (Ed) in graphene and penetration (Ep) into argon cluster were introduced. Simulation results for the argon cluster–graphene collisions showed that the argon cluster bounced back when the incident energy was less than Ed and broke when the incident energy was greater than Ep. Suspended carbon chains could be formed at the edge of the nanopore via adjusting the incident energy and, by increasing energy, the carbon chains became short and the pore edge became smooth. Ed and Ep were found to have relatively weak negative power law dependence on cluster size. The cluster collisions with large size led to higher the number of sputtered carbon atoms when all clusters had the same total cluster energy. References [1] K. S. Novoselov,A. K. Geim, S. V. Morozov,D. Jiang,Y. Zhang,S. V. Dubonos,I. V. Grigorieva,A. A. Firsov , Science. 306 ( 2004) 666. [2] T. Lenosky, X. Gonze, M. Teter, V. Elser, Nature.355 (1992) 333. [3] J.N. Hu, X.L. Ruan, Y.P. Chen, Nano Lett. 9 (7) (2009) 2730. [4] S. Ghosh, I. Calizo, D. Teweldebrhan, E.P. Pokatilov, D.L. Nika, A.A. Balandin, W. Bao, F. Miao, C.N. Lau, Appl. Phys. Lett. 92 (15) (2008) 151911-1. [5] A. H. Castro Neto, F. Guinea, N. M. R. Peres, K. S. Novoselov, and A. K. Geim, Rev. Mod. Phys.81 ( 2009) 109. [6] D. S. L. Abergel,A. Russell,V. I. Fal’ko, Appl. Phys. Lett. 91 (2007) 063125. [7] A. Cresti, N. Nemec, B. Biel, G. Niebler, F. Triozon, G. Cuniberti, S. Roche, Nano Research. 1 (2008) 361. [8] A. K. Geim, Science. 324 (2009) 1530 [9] A. Du, Z. Zhu, S. C. Smith, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 132(9) (2010) 2876. [10] R. Balog, B. Jà ¸rgensen, L. Nilsson, M. Andersen, E. Rienks, M. Bianchi, M. Fanetti, E. Là ¦gsgaard, A. Baraldi, S. Lizzit, Z. Sljivancanin, F. Besenbacher, B. Hammer, T. G. Pedersen, P. Hofmann, L. Hornekà ¦r, Nat. Mater. 9 (2010) 315. [11] T. B. Martins, R. H. Miwa, A. J. R. da Silva, A. Fazzio, Phys. Rev. Lett. 98 (2007) 19680. [12] Y. M. Lin, C. Dimitrakopoulos, K. A. Jenkins, D. B. Farmer, H. Y. Chiu, A. Grill and P. Avouris, Science. 327 ( 2010) 662. [13] A. H. Castro Neto, F. Guinea, N. M. R. Peres, K. S. Novoselov, A. K. Geim, Rev. Mod. Phys. 81 (2009) 109. [14 ] D. J. Appelhans, Z. Lin, M. T. Lusk, Phys. Rev. B. 82 (2010) 073410. [15] G. F. Schneider, Nano Lett. 10(8) (2010) 3163. [16] P. Russo, A. Hu, G. Compagnini, Nano-Micro Lett. 5(4) (2013) 260. [17] M. D. Fischbein, M. Drndic, Appl. Phys. Lett.93 ( 2008) 113107. [18] C. J. Russo, J. A. Golovchenko, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 109(16) (2012) 5953. [19] S. J. Zhao, J. M. Xue, L. Liang, Y. G. Wang, S. Yan, J. Phys. Chem. C 116(21) (2012) 11776. [20] Y. C. Cheng, H. T. Wang, Z. Y. Zhu, Y. H. Zhu, Y. Han, X. X. Zhang, U. SchwingenschloÃÅ'ˆgl, Phys. Rev. B. 85 ( 2012) 073406. [21]H. Araghi, Z. Zabihi, Nucl. Inst. Methods B 298 (2013) 12. [22] S.J. Plimpton, Journal of Computational Physics 117 (1995) 1. [23] D.W. Brenner, Phys. Rev. B .42 (1990) 9458. [24] D. W. Brenner, O. A. Shenderova, J. A. Harrison, S. J. Stuart, B. Ni, S. B. Sinnott, J. Phys. Condens. Mater. 14 (2002) 783 [25] Y. Yamaguchi, J. Gspann, Eur. Phys. J. D. 16 (2001) 103 [26] R. R. Nair, H. A. Wu, P. N. Jayaram, I. V. Grigorieva, A. K. Geim , Science. 335 ( 2012) 442. [27] N. Inui, K. Mochiji, K. Moritani, N. Nakashima, Appl. Phys. A: Mater. Sci. Process. 98 (2010) 787. Fig. 1. Incident energy dependence of the reflection and penetration probabilities Fig. 2. Snapshots of Ar55 clusters collision on graphene sheet : (a) t=0 ps , (b) t= 1 ps , (c) t=6 ps Fig.3. Final atomic configurations to X–Y plane when the collision energy is: (a)10 ev, and ( b)11 ev Fig. 4. Final atomic configurations , when the incident energy is: (a)14 ev, and (b)15 ev Fig. 5. Final atomic configurations to X–Y plane when the incident energy is: (a) 1 Kev, (b) 10 Kev, (c) 20 Kev Fig. 6. (a) Cluster size dependence of threshold incident energy of defect formation in graphene, (b) Cluster size dependence of threshold energy of penetration into argon cluster Fig. 7. Dependence of sputtered atoms on kinetic energy of a cluster Table 1. Lennard–Jones potential parameters

Essays --

In spite of their many wars and conflicts, China and Japan share a cultural tie that has bridged over the centuries. In the post-Cold War period, China and Japan have become major trading partners and their economies are now interdependent of each other. Nevertheless tensions between the two sides today over islets in the East China Sea are showing no signs of abating. The situation over ownership of the territories is so tense that some fear an outbreak of war. It is a wonder why this territorial dispute flared up so suddenly over the past few years. If the conflict between Sino-Japanese relations is ultimately over fishing rights and natural resources, then tensions over the islands should have risen four decades ago. The territorial dispute is so complex that there is no easy solution to this incendiary situation. What is clear, though, is that avoiding further confrontation, and urging for more effective communication at all levels of society is crucial. There is no doubt that China and Japan mistrust each other’s intentions and expect the other to be plotting against them. Both countries view themselves as the victim and the other as the aggressor. For the Chinese, the patriotic education emphasized after the early 1990s has had its intended effect as nationalist sentiments rose. China’s rise in the global scene has also contributed to this nationalist surge. Furthermore, it is difficult to counteract that most people are not that nationalistic because China is not a democratic country. The Chinese government has periodically used anti-Japanese sentiment and has revealed that the government allows anti-Japan demonstrations to take place but not demonstrations for other reasons. The government also seeks actively to shape the... ...dia coverage that exaggerates the most violent moments in the anti-Japanese protests in China. Moreover, governments and civil society organizations on both sides should actively support joint history research and incorporate not only one country’s views of historical events and their understanding, but also other relevant actors’ perceptions appropriately in their textbooks to cultivate coexistence and reconciliation. The Senkaku/Diaoyu dispute is a complex issue that has put security in East Asia at risk. Despite the rising tensions over political and security relations, there is still room for greater economic cooperation. If both countries see each other as a companion for their common needs and share passion of prosperity and peace, then these two nations can expect a miracle of peace and development not only politically and economically, but socially as well.

St. Michael :: Essays Papers

St. Michael Michael is first introduced to mankind through the scriptures written in the Bible. In the book of Daniel, Michael is introduced as one of the "chief princes" of Heaven as well as the guardian of the people of Israel (Daniel 10:13). His name is translated to mean "Who is like unto God," and he is one of the seven archangels of Heaven who is mentioned in the Bible, in both the Old and New Testaments. According to Rudolf Steiner, the founder of Anthroposophy and author of the book, The Archangel Michael: His Mission and Ours, Michael was the cosmic being in charge of Intelligence, whereas Michael is associated with light in other circles. This association works itself into a theory that Steiner explains in his book in a chapter titled, Michael, Arthur, and the Grail. In this theory, he proposes that Michael and his hosts of angels that accompany him are all inhabitants of the sun, and that from there, Michael was the ruler of "cosmic intelligence" (Steiner 271), and therefore the provider of all of the thoughts that humans experienced. This intelligence came down upon them from the sun, which he supports with the acceptance that we think with our heads since that is where the intelligence reaches first. And in the time of Alexander and Aristotle when human beings were aware of thoughts - - that is to say, of the content of Intelligence within them -- they did not regard these thoughts as their own, self-made thought: they felt that the thoughts were revealed to them through the power of Michael, although in that pagan era this Michael Being was known by a different name (272). By approximately the 9th century A.D., however, it seemed that human beings were beginning to see their own personal intelligence so that Michael was no longer the bearer of this gift. Now intelligence came from the earth and its inhabitants rather than the sun. But Michael and his hosts have been working to regain his administration of this intelligence by moving "in and through the hearts of human beings (274)." Steiner says that in earlier times than these we live in, people strove for intelligence not by developing their minds, but by seeking out inspirations given to them by cosmic forces, and his example of this is King Arthur.

Mobile Phone Security

This fact sheet has been developed for the Consumer Education Program by the Communications Commission of Kenya. It was compiled by studying material from various authoritative sources and adopting what Is universally acceptable and relevant to the Kenya situation. The fact sheet is intended to enable Consumers have a good understanding of the issues discussed and hence empower them when making decisions regarding CIT products and services. Introduction One of the biggest threats that a mobile phone user faces today Is loss or theft of the phone.Not only Is the mobile valued as a physical device, the phone may contain personal and financial data stored in the handset or in the phones subscriber identity module (SIMI card). While a stolen SIMI can be barred by a mobile network once the theft has been reported it Is a bit harder to bar the handset from being used with different SIMI card. Unless the user had protected his personal Information with a PIN prior to the theft or loss of th e phone, this data can be accessed by unauthorized persons. Mobile phone users normally store a wide range of information on their phones.This information can either be stored in the phone's Internal or external memory (depending on the make and model of the phone) or In the SIMI card. The SIMI card Is used mainly to store contacts and short messages while the phone's memory is used to store information such as personal photos, emails, and calendar items. In order to prevent unauthorized persons from using the phone and further gaining access to the stored Information, some mobile phones have security features which the user can activate. This fact sheet has been developed to address security of the information stored and what to do should you lose the phone.Securing the information stored. There are at least two methods one can use to secure the Information stored on a mobile phone. These are: a) SIMI lock This method takes advantage of the SIMI card as a storage element to secure private Information associated with the subscriber. The subscriber uses a PIN number which is mostly a four digit code which should only be known to him and is always prompted by the mobile phone every time the SIMI card is inserted into the phone. It Is an effective method since even If the subscriber looses the SIMI card the other person cannot access any information stored on it. Phone lock Mobile phone security This method takes advantage of a password to lock the mobile phone such that access to the phone's functions can only be permitted upon input of the correct password. An eight-digit code is more secure than a four-digit code. Most phones also have an inbuilt an automatic phone lock system which kicks In after a stipulated time period e. G. 30 seconds when activated which Is mostly used as a keypad lock and subscribers are advised to take advantage of this features to enhance the security setting AT tenet phones. N more nana el n a evolves Delve capable AT achieving emails , security especially of corporate email with sensitive internal and external data has become a major concern. This means that mobile handsets hold data which previously only resided in computers. Since this method is more effective and protects more information than the first, subscribers are advised to always lock their phones especially if they hold any sensitive information. Safeguarding your Handset Some of the ways to keep your mobile safe include: ; ; ; Keep your phone safe and out of sight.Only give your number to your friends and people you trust. Avoid using your phone in the street. If you need to call someone in a public place, be discrete and be somewhere where you can see what is happening around you. Use a PIN code to lock your phone. If you're walking alone put your phone on silent or vibrate mode so your ring tone doesn't draw attention to you. Be alert while walking and testing at the same time. Security-mark your phone with a unique code. The best place is underne ath the battery.Many mobile phones are stolen in public places such as cinemas, pubs and nightclubs, especially when they are left on a bar, table or on a seat, so don't leave your phone in such places unattended. Don't leave your phone unattended in a car – if you must, put it out of sight and turn it off or switch to silent mode. It takes seconds for a thief to smash a window and enter a car. For a Bluetooth or Wi-If enabled phone install antivirus software to help guard against harmful programs or viruses. For the sake of the safety of very young children; always keep the phone out of their reach.Avoid making easily identifiable entries in the phone e. G. ‘mum' or ‘dad' for the security of such persons should the phone be lost. There are other methods of securing your phone that are dependent on the genealogy that the phone is based on. The two main technologies used for the provision of mobile services are GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) and CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access). Phones based on these two technologies connect to their respective networks differently, so the security features differ slightly. Mobile phone security Your GSM Phone's Unique Equipment Identification Number Each GSM mobile phone has a unique electronic serial number called the MIME (International Mobile Equipment Identification) number, which can be identified by the GSM network. It is a 15-digit number programmed into the handset and also written is at the back of the handset, under the battery. On most GSM handsets, it can De Oligopoly on ten managers screen Day pressing ten Key sequence using the keypad, when the phone is switched on.Upon purchase of a mobile handset, users are advised to record their MIME number for use in case the mobile phone is lost or stolen. Your mobile phone service provider can liaise with the police regarding a lost or stolen handset and, if found, your handset will be identified using the MIME. Thieves are deterred fr om stealing mobile phones by MIME blocking. Blocking an MIME on a mobile phone network prevents a GSM mobile phone from being used with any SIMI on any Kenya GSM network. Mobile carriers are able to block the use of customers' lost or stolen mobile phones and unblock recovered mobile phones on their network.They have also agreed to exchange their lists of blocked and unblocked MIME numbers with other mobile carriers so these can also be processed (blocked/unblocked) on all mobile networks. The CDMA phone unique electronic identification number CDMA phones also have a unique electronic identification number, the Electronic Serial Number (SENSE). This number can be found on the back of the CDMA handset under the battery and usually has eight digits, combining letters and numbers. Users are advised tap record this number for identification purposes in case the phone is lost or stolen.Hidden battery power Some mobile phones are designed to reserve battery power. If the cell battery is v ery low and the user is expecting an important call or is confronted by an emergency situation, and doesn't have a charger at that moment, one can activate this reserve battery power. To activate, press the keys *3370#, the cell phone will restart with this serve and the instrument will show a significant increase in battery power. This reserve will get replenished the next time one charges their cell phone.However it should be noted that this only works on some phones. What to do if one's mobile handset is lost or stolen If the user's mobile phone is lost or stolen, the user is advised to contact their mobile phone service provider immediately to suspend service and prevent unauthorized calls being made and billed to the user. If one has a GSM mobile phone, the provider will 3 Mobile phone security block the subscriber's SIMI card and MIME number to prevent heir phone from being used on all Kenya mobile networks.

In View of Traditional and Modern Ethics Essay

Introduction The study of philosophy has long been a part of our society. The field of ethics is one of the important branches of philosophy. Ethics deals about moral values our understanding of what is right or wrong, about life, about one’s rights and regarding the Divine being. What we are now is the product of the past. Ethics mold our personality. It is how we live our lives. Ethics guides us in seeking the answers to the many different queries we have in mind like why we exist, why we long for true happiness, and why can’t we avoid immoral acts. Traditional vs. Modern Ethics The focus of traditional ethics differs from the modern ethics in many ways. Traditional ethics goes back during the times of Plato, Aristotle, and Socrates in the ancient times. These ideas of traditional ethics have become the basis of succeeding ethics foundations. The ethics being promoted today has already existed before. The world has changed. People have also changed. Thus, ethics change to adapt to the changes in the world and the people’s perspective. Ethical and political philosophy awakening started as early as 5th century B.C. in Greece by the Sophist. They desired to discover the essence of moral virtues, the â€Å"form of good† which is the ultimate source of reality and value. There are a number of themes or doctrines that emerged. These are skepticism, relativism, subjectivism, egoism, and hedonism. Some ethical egoists suggested that one’s highest objective is to lead a pleasant life focusing on his or her pleasures. It gave birth to Epicureanism and Stoicism. During the medieval times the Christianization of ethics took place with the coming of St. Augustine, St. Hildegard, and St. Thomas Aquinas. Later on utilitarianism emerged and also philosophers like Thomas Hobbes, Immanuel Kant, and John Stuart Mill. Around 18th and 19th centuries moral philosophy focused on politics. People were also exposed to Liberalism, Marxism, Communism, and Anarchism. Recent moral and political philosophers introduce the concept of normative ethics, emotivist, invisible hand mechanism, conservatism, socialism, and democratic socialism to name a few. Philosophers include G.E. Moore, W.D. Ross, John Rowls and other important names. Conclusion Moral issues are important concern for all people not just for the philosophers. All the philosophers from the ancient to the modern times have contributed to our own system of beliefs regarding life and the many issues of human existence. Indeed traditional and modern ethics are related and supportive of each other. Ideas of the traditional ethics are the foundation of the modern ethics. Advocates of modern ethics customized or revised the concepts of the traditional ethics to fit today’s society. Both traditional and modern ethics have influenced the way people think and analyze life and their society. Reference Moore-Bruder, (2005). â€Å"Moral and Political Philosophy.† Philosophy: The Power of Ideas, Sixth Edition. The McGraw-Hill Companies

Home Depot Analysis

Home Depot – 2010 Financial Report For fiscal year ended January  30, 2011 (â€Å"fiscal 2010†), Home Depot reported Net Earnings of $3. 3  billion and Diluted Earnings per Share of $2. 01 compared to Net Earnings of $2. 7  billion and Diluted Earnings per Share of $1. 57 for fiscal year ended January  31, 2010 (â€Å"fiscal 2009†). The results for fiscal 2010 included a $51 million pretax charge related to the extension of our guarantee of a senior secured loan of HD Supply, Inc. (the â€Å"HD Supply Guarantee Extension†). The results for fiscal 2009 reflected the impact of several strategic actions initiated in fiscal 2008. These strategic actions resulted in store rationalization charges related to the closing of 15 underperforming U. S. stores and the removal of approximately 50 stores from their new store pipeline, business rationalization charges related to the exit of our EXPO, THD Design Center, Yard birds and HD Bath businesses (the â€Å"Exited Businesses†) and charges related to the restructuring of support functions (collectively, the â€Å"Rationalization Charges†). These actions resulted in pretax Rationalization Charges of $146 million for fiscal 2009. The results for fiscal 2009 also included a pretax charge of $163 million to write-down our investment in HD Supply, Inc. Additionally, fiscal 2009 included earnings of $41 million from discontinued operations, net of tax, for the settlement of working capital matters arising from the sale of HD Supply. Home Depot reported Earnings from Continuing Operations of $3. 3  billion and Diluted Earnings per Share from Continuing Operations of $2. 01 for fiscal 2010 compared to Earnings from Continuing Operations of $2. 6  billion and Diluted Earnings per Share from Continuing Operations of $1. 5 for fiscal 2009. Excluding the HD Supply Guarantee Extension charge from their fiscal 2010 results, and the Rationalization Charges and the write-down of their investment in HD Supply from their fiscal 2009 results, Earnings from Continuing Operations were $3. 4 billion and Diluted Earnings per Share from Continuing Operations were $2. 03 for fiscal 2010 compared to Earnings from Continuing Oper ations of $2. 8 billion and Diluted Earnings per Share from Continuing Operations of $1. 66 for fiscal 2009. Net Sales increased 2. 8% to $68. 0  billion for fiscal 2010 from $66.   billion for fiscal 2009. Home Depot’s comparable store sales increased 2. 9% in fiscal 2010, driven by a 2. 4% increase in their comparable store customer transactions and a 0. 5% increase in their comparable store average ticket to $51. 93. Comparable store sales for their U. S. stores increased 2. 5% in fiscal 2010. In fiscal 2010, Home Depot focused on the following four key initiatives: Customer Service: Home Depot’s focus on customer service is anchored on the principles of taking care of their associates, putting customers first and simplifying the business. The roll out of their Customers FIRST training to all store associates and support staff in fiscal 2009 has brought simplification and focus across the business, and they repeated and refreshed the Customers FIRST training during fiscal 2010. The Customers FIRST program is part of their ongoing commitment to improve customer service levels in their stores, and they continued to see the benefit of this training in improved customer service ratings for fiscal 2010 compared to fiscal 2009. Also in fiscal 2010, Home Depot completed the deployment of their FIRST Phone, a new hand held device that provides multiple functions such as inventory management, product location and mobile checkout. The core purpose of this new device is to reduce tasking time for their store associates to allow them more time to focus on customer service. Home Depot ended fiscal 2010 with more than half of their store payroll allocated to customer facing activities rather than tasking activities. They have a customer facing store payroll target of 60%, and they believe they will achieve that by 2013. Product Authority: Our focus on product authority is facilitated by our merchandising transformation and portfolio strategy, including innovation, assortment and value. In fiscal 2010, we made significant progress on our merchandising tools in the U. S. that helped us manage markdown and clearance activity and better control inventory. Our inventory turnover ratio was 4. 13 times at the end of fiscal 2010 compared to 4. 06 times at the end of fiscal 2009. Additionally, we continued to form strategic alliances and relationships with selected suppliers to bring a number of proprietary and xclusive brands across a wide range of departments. Productivity and Efficiency: Home Depot’s approach to driving productivity and efficiency starts with disciplined capital allocation focused on building best-in-class competitive advantages in information technology and supply chain, as well as building shareholder value through higher returns on invested capital and total value returned to sh areholders in the form of dividends and share repurchases. At the end of fiscal 2010, they completed the roll out of their Rapid Deployment Centers (â€Å"RDCs†) and now have 19 RDCs that serve 100% of their U. S. stores. Also during fiscal 2010, they repurchased 80. 9  million shares for $2. 6 billion, and on February  22, 2011 Home depot announced a six percent increase in their quarterly cash dividend to 25 cents per share. Interconnected Retail: Home Depot’s focus on interconnected retail is based on the view that providing a seamless shopping experience across multiple channels will be a critical enabler for future success. Their multiple channel focus is allowing them to greatly expand their assortment of merchandise, and they are making the investment to build these capabilities, including the roll out of â€Å"buy on-line, pick-up in store† next year. Home depot is committed to having a best-in-class website, and during fiscal 2010 their site was named as a Most Improved Website for customer satisfaction by Foresee, a leading customer satisfaction analytics firm. Home Depot opened eight new stores in fiscal 2010, including one relocation, and closed three stores, bringing our total store count at the end of fiscal 2010 to 2,248. As of the end of fiscal 2010, a total of 272 of these stores, or 12. 1%, were located in Canada, Mexico and China compared to 268 stores, or 11. 9%, at the end of fiscal 2009. Home Depot generated approximately $4.   billion of cash flow from operations in fiscal 2010. They used this cash flow along with cash on hand to fund $2. 6 billion of share repurchases, pay $1. 6  billion of dividends and fund $1. 1 billion in capital expenditures. At the end of fiscal 2010, Home Depot’s long-term debt-to-equity ratio was 46. 1% compared to 44. 7% at the end of fiscal 2009. Their return on invested capita l for continuing operations (computed on net operating profit after tax for the trailing twelve months and the average of beginning and ending long-term debt and equity) was 12. 8% for fiscal 2010 compared to 10. % for fiscal 2009. This increase reflects the impact of the Rationalization Charges which they included in their operating profit for fiscal 2009. Excluding the Rationalization Charges, their return on invested capital for continuing operations was 12. 7% for fiscal 2010 compared to 11. 1% for fiscal 2009. Week 2 Activity Ratios of Home Depot vs. Lowe’s One key to profitability is how well a company manages and utilizes its assets. Some ratios are design to evaluate a company’s effectectiveness in managing assets. Of particular interest is the activity, or turnover ratios, of certain assets. The greater the number of times an asset turns over, the higher the ratio the fewer assets are required to maintain a given level of activity (revenue). Given that a company incurs costs to finance its assets with debt (paying interest) or equity (paying dividends), high turnovers are usually attractive. |Receivable Turnover | |Year |2009 |2010 |2011 | |Home Depot |68. |63. 9 |53. 9 | |Lowe’s |0. 0 |0. 0 |0. 0 | Receivable Turnover ratio is calculated by dividing a period’s net credit sales by the average net accounts receivables. The receivables turnover ratio provides an indication of a company’s efficiency in collecting receivables. The ratio shows the number of times during a period that the averages accounts receivable balance is collected. The higher the ratio, the shorter the average time between credit sales and cash collection. As we can see above, Lowe’s has zero receivables, which can be translated to no credit sales. |Inventory Turnover | |Year |2009 |2010 |2011 | |Home Depot |4. 21 |4.. 19 |4. 34 | |Lowe’s |4. 0 |3. 72 |3. 63 | Inventory Turnover is an important measure for a merchandising company. The ratio shows the number of times the average inventory balance is sold during reporting period. It indicates how quickly inventory is sold. The more frequently a business is able to sell, or turn over, its inventory, the lower its investment in inventory must be for a given level of sales. The ratio is computed by dividing the period’s costs of goods sold by the average inventory balance. The denominator, average inventory, is determined by adding beginning and ending inventory and dividing by two. A relatively high ratio, as in the case of Home Depot compare to Lowe’s, usually is desirable. A high ratio indicates comparative strength, perhaps caused by a company’s superior sales force or maybe a successful advertising campaign. However, it might also be caused by a relatively low inventory level, which could mean either very efficient inventory measurement or stock outs or lost sales in the future. Comparing the two industries, we can conclude than Home Depot turns over their inventory a bit faster than Lowe’s. Asset Turnover | |Year |2009 |2010 |2011 | |Home Depot |1. 73 |1. 62 |1. 73 | |Lowe’s |1. 48 |1. 43 |1. 41 | Asset Turnover is a broad measure of asset efficiency. The ratio is computed by dividing a company’s net sales or revenue by the average total assets available for use during a period. The denominator, average assets, is determined by adding beginning and ending total assets and dividing by two. The asset turnover ratio provides an indication of how efficiency a company utilizes all of its assets to generate revenue. Also, it shows how many sales dollars are generated for every dollar invested in the company’s assets. Lowe’s had relatively lower asset turnover than Home Depot because their recent investment in PP&E has not yet reached their potentials. Home Depot is a financially sound company and performs well when compared to its competitors. Based on current business conditions and the potential growth opportunity facing Home Depot, we feel that the bottom line will continue to grow at a healthy rate above the competition in the near future. We believe that the relatively low levels of debt, slightly wider margins, and lower costs make Home Depot an attractive investment for the long run. Shares of Home Depot are currently trading at $33. 92 to what we believe is gaining momentum in the market. This increase is possibly derived from the market’s belief that better than predicted growth will be seen from expansion into foreign markets, specifically China. Week 4 Home Depot – Accounting Policies The retail industry, in general, presents a very competitive market with high price competition and low product differentiation. Although almost any retailer, from supermarkets to superstores, can offer home improvement items at a competitive price, the home improvement industry currently provides a great opportunity for differentiation in regards to the types of services home improvement retailers offer. To successfully maximize sales and increase revenues in the home improvement industry, retailers such as Home Depot must successfully combine product variety, quality and price and specialized services. As discussed earlier, Home Depot has adopted a business strategy based on these key factors. Consequently, as we look at Home Depot’s overall financial results, it is necessary to focus on key accounting policies adopted by the company to measure critical factors and risks. In the â€Å"Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Results of Operations and Financial Condition† of The Home Depot, Inc 2011 Annual Report (www. omedepot. com), management identified three major areas as areas of critical accounting policy and discussed the adoption of four different accounting pronouncements. In addition to the four recently adopted accounting pronouncements identified in the management’s discussion, The Home Depot identified four other major accounting policy change s in it’s â€Å"Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements†. Specifically, The Home Depot adopted four different accounting pronouncements in regards to service revenue recognition, vendor allowances, goodwill amortization and stock based compensation. The three critical accounting policies, as identified by The Home Depot management refer to the treatment of merchandise inventories, self insurance and revenue recognition. Merchandise Inventory policy is specifically addressed by The Home Depot management in â€Å"Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Results of Operations and Financial Condition† and is assessed in two different ways. Approximately 93% of total inventory is valued at the lower of cost or market utilizing FIFO under the retail inventory method with the other 7% valued under the cost method. The Notes section of the Financial Statements accounts for the two different methods. According to the Notes, the 7% of inventory valued under the cost method was due to inventory policy of certain subsidiaries and distribution centers. In addition, The Home Depot, Inc. takes a physical inventory count on a regular basis at each store to verify that inventory amounts in the merchandise inventory section of the Consolidated Financial Statements are accurate. Lastly, in regards to merchandise inventory, the company does account for possible inventory shrinkage or swell based on historical results and industry trends. Self Insurance accounting policy for Home Depot addresses it’s treatment of â€Å"losses related to general liability, product liability, workers’ compensation and medical claims†. The total liability is estimated on the total cost incurred as of the specific balance sheet date and is not discounted. The estimate is based on â€Å"historical data and actuarial estimates†. The company also explains in it’s Management Discussion that they ensure estimates of liability are as accurate as possible by having both management and third-party actuaries review the estimates on a quarterly basis. Revenue Recognition is the third critical accounting policy identified by The Home Depot management. Revenue recognition at the Home Depot follows the industry norm of recognizing revenue when the customer takes possession of the merchandise or, if a customer makes payment prior to take ownership of the merchandise, Home Depot records the sale as Deferred Revenue on the balance sheet until the sale is finalized when the customer takes possession of the paid merchandise. Additionally, because The Home Depot also provides a variety of services through their installation and home maintenance programs, they also recognize service revenue at the time when the service is completed and also record any customer pre-paid service revenue as Deferred Revenue on the balance sheet. Week 5 Internet The internet has completely changed the way companies communicate and market to their prospects. Home improvement businesses in the U. S report that the ways they have traditionally generated leads (i. . yellows pages, direct mail, print media, tv and radio) aren’t working like they use to. In fact, 85% of all products and service inquiries now start online and 97% of U. S internet users gather shopping information online and of those more than half characterize their behavior as ‘Shop Online, Purchase Offline. ’ The convenience of online shopping and the ability to make price comparisons on the internet has completely changed retail trends in the p ast decades. Even though most people tend to shop for building materials by visiting physical locations, still Home Depot cannot ignore e-commerce because people increasing buy items of nearly any kind online. Home depot being the largest home improvement retailer is expanding in the online channel aggressively and targeting it as a major growth opportunity. Home depot made it’s biggest e-commerce investment over the last two years since it started internet sales in 2001. According to research, 45% 0f the 9. million consumers who visited Home Depot’s website on average in any given week said their next step was a trip to a Home Depot store, which translates to about 225 customers a day per location. However, e-commerce for the home improvement industry is an underleveraged opportunity. A lot of people think of home Depot as a place you go on a Saturday, or when you do window treatment or carpeting. As such, they can do a better job online for things like branded power tools and repl enishable items and also offer delivering services for those items. Home Depot’s operating cost will decrease if customers interacted through the use of the internet due to the folllowing: †¢ Online customers are used to doing their own shopping without any salesperson assistance; therefore the cost of the salesperson would be eliminated as such. †¢ The range of products that can be offered through the website can be far greater than what one could find at Home Depot’s location, thereby giving customers a clear reason to prefer the internet. These are all advantages that Home Depot can benefit from as a result of the internet. As with the advantages, there are also disadvantages (issues) that Home Depot needs to put into consideration and work diligently to address them. The foremost of these issues are lack of site maintenance and lack of integration between the e-commerce site and the corporate back-office systems. As such, Home Depot must work through these issues in detail in order to arrive at the true cost-benefit for an e-commerce.

Why Farts Are Awesome

People are too uptight. Or maybe people just don't realize how funny farting actually is. And by people, I mean the feminine half of the population. The difference in opinion between the sexes on the humorous value of a good fart is one of the most telling signs that men are far more evolved than women. Or at least have a better sense of humor. Dammit, farts are funny. So what brought this on, you ask? Well today at work, I had to fart. So naturally I ran over to where one of my coworkers was standing, lifted my leg, scrunched my face up, and let ‘er rip. Apparently, that was rude. Well, excuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu uuuuuuuuuuuse me. After I farted on my coworker, every single male working starting laughing their asses off, and the females looked at me as if I'd just committed the most heinous crime one can commit. The manager tried to keep the peace by politely asking me to not fart on people, but it was one of those times where you're trying to tell somebody not to do something, yet you just can't stop laughing. I was forced to admit that farting on someone is rude. Yeah, so? It's also very freakin hilarious. We do it to each other all the time, well, the guys anyway. We'll run over to each other's workstations, rip one off, then run away laughing as the other person covers their nose. Then an hour later they'll get us back. And you know what? It's damn funny too. So of course when I farted on my coworker people asked me if I would think it's funny if someone farted on me. Not especially, but it would be damn funny to them, and if they did it to me and didn't laugh, I'd kick their ass. Of course it isn't funny if you're on the receiving end, but it's comedic gold if you deliver a well-timed stinker to a friend. The humor value of a fart is judged by the level of humor in the eyes of the farter and the third-party audience, if applicable. The fartee's perspective doesn't count. That's the whole point of getting a good laugh at the expense of others. I don't mind if people get a laugh at my expense. It's the rules of the game, you live by the sword and die by the sword. I can take a fart from someone else, but you can bet your ass I'll be delivering one with your name on it. You see, if God didn't want people to fart on each other, he wouldn't have made it so funny. God wants us to fart in the funniest manner possible. Usually that involves assaulting the nasal passages of your fellow man. Farting is just funny. I mean think about it, it stinks, it makes a funny noise, and it comes out of your ass, how could it possibly get any funnier than that? As a matter of fact, I challenge you to name five things in life that are funnier than nailing somebody else with a big stinky fart. I don't think it's possible. To help all of you appreciate the art of farting a little more, I have taken the liberty of coming up with a few farting tips from a farting pro. If possible, make certain someone else gets the pleasure of smelling your fart. A fart nobody else smells or hears is an opportunity wasted and lost forever. If you have to fart and you're standing next to someone, bend your ass and â€Å"aim† toward them. This doesn't really make it any smellier for them, but it adds dramatic effect and makes the experience funnier. If you have to fart, and nobody is standing right next to you, hunt someone down, then lift your leg, scrunch up your face, and let it go. For bonus points, try to corner someone and then fart on them. Also for bonus, get down on your knees as though you're looking for something on the ground. Ask for help. As soon as the good samaritan gets on their knees to help you, quickly move your ass right up next to their face and let go. When someone is giving their opinion and you have to fart, say â€Å"You know what I think about that? † and then scrunch up your face and fart. When you have to fart and someone is walking in your direction, hold the fart until the are directly behind you, then release. If you're sitting down when you fart, lift the ass cheek facing the person nearest to you, that way they get the full effect. Upon completion of the fart, say â€Å"aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh†, as though you've just taken an eleven-pound shit. Quickly claim the fart as your own handiwork, especially to those who didn't hear it. If you don't tell them, they may never know you just farted. Raise your arms over your head as though you've just won the World Heavyweight Title in front of thousands of people. Announce what it was that made you fart. Make sure to use lots of description. Rather than say â€Å"I need to stop eating so much Mexican food†, say â€Å"God damn, those three bean burritos went right through me, I'll be lucky if I don't get diarrhea. † Describe to all around you how the fart felt as it came out. For example, was it a wet one? A cheek burner? Did you feel like a giant gas bubble in your stomach popped with the fart's release? Do you need to go to the restroom just to make sure a little feces didn't escape as well? Rate the fart. Unless it was a dud, in which case you shouldn't have done all the buildup. But if it was a good one, talk about what a great fart it was and how you wish you'd had a video camera.