Class Prophecy of Batch 2010 in Morms.Doc Essay

Most of us would agree that the days we spent in high school were certainly the best days of our lives. Memorable ones I suggest. It was in high school that we made our grown-up friends, competed to excel, hoped for places in the sports team, toiled to lead in the student council, and yielded to take part in the school organ. It was also in high school when we first felt and experienced to love – puppy love as people say. Thus, it is indeed in this chapter that we learnt lessons about life; that what lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. And it is inevitable that we encounter obstacles along the way, from which we learn to fight and to be strong. The class of 2008 has come along way since the freshman year at San Francisco High School, and memories come flooding back every time we reminisce each high school happening. All of which were joyous, worth remembering and unique in their own right. I. Igniting the inner light – freshmen year Anxiety filled the air as freshmen wandered during the opening classes in San Francisco High School. All of whom were thinking who their adviser, teachers and classmates may be. And as the school bell rang, every freshman began to walk hurriedly along the school grounds to finally reach their destination – their new home. Thus, the meandering class of 2008 came together under one roof in the white walls of Molave Building. Consequently, here is where our story began. Everyone leapt unto their respective classrooms, and as they found themselves seats to sink in, murmurings started to conquer the place. Then a glaciating breeze seemed to stun every freshman and jerked them silent, way too different from the usual noisy chitchats, chants and laughter heard within the four corners of a classroom. The first day of classes in high school signifies that to be a freshman is to be in possession of a wonderful thing: time. There is time to figure out what you want to do with your life, time to figure out what books you want to read. There is time to make friends. This was the time of building friendships again, for each may have parted with old friends and that new sets of close acquaintances are to be developed. That I think is what being a freshman is all about – to begin again. Our freshmen year may have been unique compared to the other years for it was in our time when the school decorum or dress code was changed, so that the boys could wear black pants instead of kaki pants. It was also in our time when the Department of Education first launched a project to further intensify the form of education in public high schools: the Bridge Program. Yes, we will never forget this program. Every time we remember it, a painstaking examination flows back into our minds. And as days passed, we encountered several more mind-boggling and constraining tests to cogitate on. Take the National Achievement Test that welcomed us at our first year at SFHS as an example. But through all these, we came to the extent to study more, learn more and acquire more knowledge. Our days in San Francisco High School continued to pass by and progress started to set in to our school as it welcomed development and change. The usual flood-prone and muddy area by the entrance of the Molave Building was then transformed into something more accessible as the drainage was improved and pathways concretized. Likewise, the school cafeteria with dull, tedious and wearisome ambiance has become lively, bright and auspicious, but was unfortunately set on fire months after the renovation. Notwithstanding the aforementioned concerns, every freshman continued to weave a strong bond of relationships with their new classmates and schoolmates, overcoming the sadness they felt as they went separate ways amongst elementary friends. And the once aloof, coy, and cold-hearted freshmen were turned steadfastly amicable. Hence, this was the time of being true and showing who you really are . . . again. Sometimes our light goes out but is blown again into flame by an encounter with another human being. Each of us owes the deepest thanks to those who have rekindled and ignited this inner light. II. Shoreline of growing up – sophomore year Don’t be afraid to take a big step if one is indicated; you can’t cross a chasm in two small jumps. This is the time of schooling where learning requires maturity; where the playful freshmen turn out to be dreamers. And that these dreamers learn to plan for their lives – on what they desire to become and what paths they ought to take. It is in our sophomore year that we began to write our own plans and arrangements for our own future. As San Francisco High School welcomed back the class of 2008 for their sophomore year, the school then waved goodbye to Dr. Consolacion Montano, principal, as she moved to another high school. SFHS then warmly opened its gates for the arrival of their new head of authorities, for their new school principal, Dr. Milagros San Juan. This was surprisingly a news breaking event for the school at that moment. Time flew and San Francisco High School started to embrace changes and improvements initiated by the effort of the newly appointed principal of the school, Dr. San Juan. In the first three months of her service, she revised the mission-vision of the school focusing on academic excellence and the realization of students’ and teachers’ giftedness, which dramatically changed the attitudes of both the teachers and students. Also, Dr. San Juan organized an infrastructural set-up in the school to produce a more conducive learning environment among the students and in lieu of the pending condemnation of the old Narra Building. Indeed, through the collaborative endeavour of the school administrators, stakeholders and Quezon City Government, a four-storey 18-classroom building has started its structural foundation in San Francisco High School and has become operational in our junior year. Meanwhile, the Dao and PUP Buildings in SFHS underwent renovation for replacement of roofing and repainting. Clearly, Dr. San Juan’s vision for SFHS in pursuit for academic excellence beyond mediocrity has slowly made possible and she cited that SFHS will regain its pride in due time. It was also in the plight of Dr. San Juan’s arrival that SFHS first celebrated its founding anniversary after many years . . . after several decades. And from boring and tiresome schooldays, the students then enjoyed various school activities such as seminars, workshops, symposiums and trainings which honed their virtues and intellect, all necessary as they grow. The growing students of class 2008 have come to the point of hitching their wagons to a star. Believing that dreaming is the beginning of success, these sophomores then begun to mold their future in their young minds. It is clear that the future holds great opportunities. It also holds pitfalls. The trick of succeeding is to seize the opportunities and avoid the pitfalls. Opportunity comes only once, but when it does not knock, you must learn to build a door. Growing up is not that easy for growing requires valor and bravery as one meets challenges and hindrances along the way. It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are. III. Steering with countless effort – junior year The best helping hand that you will ever receive is the one at the end of your own arm. All downhill comes this year. It is circumstantial that in this chapter of high school life, a myriad of responsibilities is at par facing the junior students for here is where they are trained and honed in preparation for the duties that await them. All new academic school year at San Francisco High School and all new happenings for the juniors to encounter and celebrate. First was the transformation of the school library into something innovative as it coped with the technological advancements of the community – the school library went online. Thanks to the Quezon City Government and Quezon City Division of City Schools. Second in line was the commemoration of the school’s 49th founding anniversary – again, a day of joy and euphoria. Nevertheless, the feeling of excitement aroused upon each junior when the news about the Junior and Senior Promenade came about. February passed and March came. Finally the prom was held . . . after years. This most awaited moment was jam packed with programs, great music, tasty food, glamorous formal attires, and the highlight of the evening – the ball. Not to mention the turn-over ceremonies of responsibilities from seniors to juniors that indicates relief to the fourth years, but the beginning of busy schooldays for the third years. However, the night was then enjoyed with relish and zest by all, particularly the juniors, setting aside the duties that await them. The prom was over and each student went home with smiles on their faces. Looking back weeks before the prom, the Supreme Student Government (SSG), formerly Student Council had its election of new set of officers for the next academic school year. The positions from the President down to the year level representatives were opened to those who are willing to dedicate their service, time and effort for the school. All of which were struggled by the three competing party lists namely: Uno Kabataan, YOUNG and CUP. All were devoted to serve the school, but only a few were to be chosen. After a democratic school wide voting, the student body has elected their new leaders. The juniors turned leaders, Alexis Ailex Villamor Jr., President; Rose-lyn Ann Reyes, Vice-President; Leira Anne Nolasco, Secretary; Adelpha Gonzales, Treasurer; Armie Saces, Auditor; Judith Regine Santos, P.I.O; Mary Grace Papa, Peace Officer; and the so called â€Å"Magic Four†, Ma. Rose Solas, Ferdie Javier, Janine Joy Ilagan, and Kristine Joy Torela, fourth year representatives, then metamorphosed to responsible students for they ought to show off what they can do next year. Continuity of vision and specified goal are necessary requirements for upcoming seniors, significant aspects in striking the aim. Obstacles come at every chance and these are those frightful things that one sees when he takes his eyes off his goal. All that one can do is spit in the eye of his fears by living each day with as much passion and commitment as possible to what truly counts, such as love and justice. To give into the fear and hopelessness would be to declare defeat; something that one is not ready to do while there is still the will to struggle. To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting. Remember that we cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sail. All our dreams for our school, family and ourselves can come true . . . if we have the chivalry to pursue it. Go for it now. The future is promised to no one. IV. Setting adrift – senior year Do not follow where the path may lead. Go, instead, where there is no path and leave a trail. Senior year: the final lap. New dreams are to be dreamed; new hopes are to be hoped for, and a lot new works are to be worked on. The once little youngsters have now grown and became young adults, that from playing and chatting, they will now embark and handle over great responsibilities and obligations duly bequeathed unto them by the previous senior students. In line with their duties in school, they then approached the instance of making the hardest decision. That their future counts on the manifestation of this decision. Eventually, stories of triumph, success, loss and frustration are expected from this new journey. In preparation for the opening of classes, the Brigada Eskwela of San Francisco High School, spearheaded by the School Governing Council (SGC), went beyond the National School Maintenance Week and won 2nd place, welcoming the students with festal pleasure and felicity. This was made possible by the noble and spectacular work of the SGC. Gradually moving forward, the seniors went to school with vigor as the school year started. The first week of school was a mere catastrophe, if I may say. For the school cafeteria alongside the Narra Building was torn down accidentally by the SM construction team, leaving the area with looms of rocks, shuttered glasses and cluttered pieces of wood. However, the company vowed of replacing those that were destroyed in due time. However, classes continued and academic club elections were held, signifying more obligations for the seniors to deal with. Through the commitment of the Hon. Cong. Vincent â€Å"Bingbong† Crisologo to ensure that government resources entrusted under his discretion be utilized for the general welfare of the citizenry; he gracefully turned-over an audio-speech laboratory to the school for the productivity of the English language amongst students. The laboratory was built at the fourth floor of the SB Hall. Our profound gratitude to Congressman Crisologo! But our thoughts of gratitude have not stopped there, as part of San Francisco High School’s Anniversary Celebration, the SGC and SM Foundation jointly conducted medical-dental-optical missions last July and August, and it turned out to be a big success. Another record in school history. Thanks to the SGC’s continuing support, camaraderie and rapport! After all the effort of the School Governing Council, its time for the Supreme Student Government to step its foot in preparation for the school’s Golden Jubilee Celebration. To prove that the officers of the SSG were indeed capable of leading the school, the organization volunteered to preside and prepare the programs for the celebration. After several discussion and meetings, the SSG decided to hold a Sports Festival, which served as a treat to the students and teachers. They also came up with the theme: S.O.S (Save Our Students) – Needing collective efforts towards academic excellence, with the help of Dr. San Juan herself and Mrs. Virginia Amin. With only one week preparation, the SSG, administrators and stakeholders furnished out the program and other necessary materials and equipments for the celebration. The 29th of September came, and the 50th Founding Anniversary of San Francisco High School was successfully commemorated in spite of the not-so-friendly weather. Surely, happiness and enjoyment aboundingly invaded everyone’s hearts as they involve themselves in the historical event of the school. Other programs that kept students involved were: the Mr. and Ms. San Francisco ’07, the Leaders for Juan seminar and workshop, Books in Motion of the English Club, Poster, Logo and Slogan Making Competitions, Student Debate regarding Honesty, Industry and Nationalism, Tutorial Sessions, â€Å"Gulayan sa Paaralan† of the PTA and a lot more. Year 2008 was a leap year and with the phenomenal February 29, the 2008 Junior and Senior Promenade was held. Though the seniors’ excitement was not as much as last year’s, everyone still enjoyed the evening. Thus, emotion of sadness abound the dance floor as seniors danced along with slow music, knowing that this was the last prom that they would attend. Yet, tears have no place on the center stage when loud music jammed, breaking the silence. The celebration still continued as our days in San Francisco High School passed, for our batch has successfully brought honor and pride to the school as we reaped places in annual competitions: Secondary Schools Press Conferences: district , division and regional levels and qualified the national level, Student Technologists and Entrepreneurs of the Philippines (STEP) Skills Competitions: district and division levels, Values Education Competitions: district, division and national levels, Dance Competitions topped by the schools pride, Pamanadanse, Poster and Slogan Making Contests, Essay Writing and Oratorical Competitions outside school, Math Challenges, and in the SB Centrex, Center for Excellence – a help in regaining the school’s prowess. And we are happy that we would be leaving San Francisco High School a better place for what we have done and what we have been. Hence, as we set adrift, as we leave our Alma Mater, and as we venture through another life, we can presume that we have left a legacy; a trail that others may follow and an inspiration to those who are next in line. Graduation day is yet to come. Graduation day fills the heart with mixed feelings – fulfilment and sadness, anxiety and eagerness. Seniors will say goodbye to the comfortable and secure life within the high school walls. Everyone must get ready to march to the beat of college life. The uncertainty of the future looms large over new graduates as they spread out their wings. Armed with diplomas and idealistic dreams, they charge ahead with enthusiasm. The fireworks begin today. Each diploma is a lighted match. Each one of the graduates is a fuse. Each one then must dream no small dreams for they have no power to move the hearts of men. One must not be afraid on attaining great things. Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? We are children of God. Our small plays do not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. Shoot for the moon, even if we miss, we’ll land among the stars; let us hit our goal so that he will hit his too. Commencement exercises are not the end; it’s just the beginning. And as the graduating class of 2008 dresses in identical caps and gowns, each and everyone would say with pride, â€Å"The tassel’s worth the hassle!† At this moment of our lives, our families are extremely proud of us. We can’t imagine the sense of relief they are experiencing. This must be a sign of farewell to friends, but let us not be dismayed at goodbyes. A farewell is necessary before you can meet again. And meeting again, after moments or lifetime, is certain for those who are friends. Well, it’s March 23, 2008, and our history doesn’t end here. As days move onward, we’ll throw off the bowlines and we’ll sail away from the safe harbor. . . Then our story will begin once more. Till we meet again. Arrivederci! For now, five days to go and we’ll set adrift, with a diploma for a sail and lots of nerve for oars.

English Tennyson Essay Essay

How far do you agree with one reader’s view that â€Å"the men in Tennyson’s poems are whining, selfish and arrogant, with little to recommend them†? In Tennyson’s poem Tithonus, some may see him as self pitying. In the first stanza it begins with how man is born, works on the earth, then dies and is buried underground. However, the speaker, Tithonus, is cursed to live forever, â€Å"Me only cruel immortality consumes†. Tithonus then goes on to tell Aurora, goddess of the dawn, â€Å"I wither slowly in thine arms†. He expresses a passionate grief about this while he is now a â€Å"gray shadow† that was once a glorious and beautiful man chosen by Aurora to be her lover. He remembers long ago that he had asked Aurora to grant him eternal life, but the hours that accompanied Aurora were angry at Tithonus as he was able to resist death. Now, though he cannot die, he remains forever old and has to endure waking up to Aurora who is able to renew herself every morning, consequently stays forever young. In the third stanza, just before the sun rises, Tithonus tells us that he can see the â€Å"dark world† where he was born and was a mortal being. Aurora is told by Tithonus that she always grows beautiful, but she then leaves suddenly without having answered his request, â€Å"In silence, then before thine answer given departest, and thy tears are on my cheek† which tells us the sadness he feels about his curse of being old but never dying. He also questions Aurora as to why she must â€Å"scare† him with her look of regret as this makes him fear that an old saying â€Å"The God’s themselves cannot recall their gifts† might not be true. Tithonus then sighs and starts to reminisce about his youth, and remembered how his body used to come alive when he lay down waiting for the dawn, â€Å"..and felt my blood glow with the glow that slowly crimson’d all†. In the final stanza, Tithonus pleads with Aurora to not keep him imprisoned in the East as the sun always rises in the East, so he has to watch her rise anew each morning, because his eternal old age means he has to endure the overwhelming pain of watching Aurora’s eternal renewal. He asks her how it is possible for his nature to continue to mix with hers as they are both so different now. Tithonus wakes up each morning â€Å"cold† and â€Å"wrinkled† whereas  she rises to â€Å"happy men that have the power to die†. He asks Aurora â€Å"release me, and restore me to the ground† because he is miserable and can only appreciate life when he is dead. This way, Aurora can see his grave when he rises, and he who is buried in the earth will be able to forget the emptiness of his present state. Throughout the poem, there is no real sequence or structure to it. Tithonus’ thoughts and feelings jump back and forth; this shows the disorder and confusion in his life as he is immortal and life is a never ending struggle for him. Throughout the whole poem, Tithonus is whining about his immortal curse and how he pleads with Aurora to release him, even though he had asked her to grant him eternal life. This shows how arrogant he really is, because the reason he wanted eternal life was because he had remembered how much of a beautiful man he was. Aurora had given Tithonus what he had desperately longed for, then throughout the poem he had put all his misery, unhappiness and desperation on her as he realised he would stay forever old because the Hours punished him. He is trying to make Aurora feel guilty for what she has done because he has to be in the presence of her eternal youth and beauty. In Tennyson’s poem Ulysses some may view this as another example of how arrogant and selfish men are. Ulysses announces that he sees very little point in him staying at home â€Å"by this still hearth† with his old wife, which shows very little respect for her. He also speaks of his travels and how he intends to live life to the fullest and swallow every last drop of life. He has been exposed to many different types of people and their way of life. They have also exposed Ulysses to the â€Å"delight of battle† as he was fighting the Trojan War with his fellow soldiers. Ulysses says that his travels and what he has seen has shaped who he is, â€Å"I am a part of all that I have met† he explains. Ulysses declares it is boring to stay in one place, â€Å"how dull it is to pause, to make an end† and to remain in one place is to pretend that all there is to life is simply breathing. He yearns for new experiences that will broaden his horizons and grow in wisdom and learning â€Å"to follow knowledge like a sinking star†. Ulysses then speaks to an unknown audience about his son  Telemachus and how he will govern the island while he will continue his travels at sea. He speaks highly of his son Telemachus, praising his dedication and devotion to the gods â€Å"and pay meet adoration to my household gods†. This poem is written as a dramatic monologue and is spoken by a single character, which is Ulysses, and his identity is revealed through his own words. The lines are in unrhymed iambic pentameter which gives a natural and fluid quality to Ulysses’ speech. A lot of the lines in the poem end in the middle rather than the end, which is seen as appropriate for this poem because it is about pushing forward in life. Finally, the poem is split up into four paragraphs or sections that each has a thematic unit to them. In all dramatic monologues the character of the speaker emerges from his own words, and it is clear that Ulysses is incompetent as a ruler as he much prefers to travel the seas and embark on new quests, instead of taking care of his present responsibilities. From one reader’s point of view, Ulysses may be seen as egotistical and selfish as he devotes 26 lines to himself and longing for the travelling life, and another 26 lines to his mariners who travel the seas with him. However, he only devotes 11 lines to his son about how he is to govern his land whilst he is away, and only 2 lines about his â€Å"aged wife†. However, in that era, it was the norm for the males to travel the seas and explore the untraveled world, and for the wives and children they would stay at home waiting for the men to return. So one might say Ulysses was doing his duty and what was expected of him at that time. Another poem by Tennyson is Mariana which is drawn from a line in Shakespeare’s play Measure for Measure: â€Å"Mariana in the moated grange† which is about a woman waiting for her lover Angelo who has abandoned her because of the loss of her dowry. The poem has no real narrative movement and instead is a visual depiction of isolation. One of the most important symbols in this poem is in the fourth and fifth stanzas; the poplar tree can be interpreted as a phallic symbol as it provides a break in a flat and even landscape, â€Å"for leagues no other tree did mark†. The shadow of the poplar tree falls on Mariana’s bed at night when she feels love sick, which may suggest her sexual hunger for lover who has not come for her. The poplar  tree also comes from classic mythology; Ovid describes Oenone addresses the poplar tree in which Paris carved his promise not to desert her. Therefore the tree has become a symbol of a lover and his broken promise. The first, fourth and sixth stanzas are the only stanzas that take place in the daytime. They each show an unending present with no sense of time, light and darkness. These stanzas switch from the descriptions of Mariana feeling restless and sad, she does not sleep or wake but she is in a constant dreamy state of mind. Mariana cries in the morning and evening and awakes in the middle of the night. Going back and forth between a flat day and sleepless night creates a sense of torment and confused time. The poem involves no action or progression, and Mariana is locked in a constant state of longing and isolation. Because of the image we get of Mariana, one view would be that her lover is selfish and arrogant because he only ever wanted her for her dowry, but because she has nothing he no longer sees her as valuable. On the other hand, Tennyson wrote the poem from Marianas point of view, so we do not get a complete picture of what has happened. Overall, one might agree with a readers view that the men in Tithonus, Ulysses and Mariana are whining, selfish and arrogant with little to recommend them. Tithonus is putting guilt on Aurora for giving him immortality, even though he had asked for it. In Ulysses, he is clear that his love of the sea and his travels are greater than that of his wife and child. However, in those days Ulysses was just fulfilling his male role in his society, and this was part of the norm and everyday life for them. In Mariana, we get the impression from the way Tennyson tells the story of Mariana that her lover only really wanted her dowry, but because she has nothing left he is no longer interested and has left her waiting for him, therefore we would sympathise with Mariana. However, the reader is only seeing things from Marianas point of view as Tennyson wrote the poem from her perspective, so we are not getting the full picture of what happened.

Bhagavad Gita is the Ultimate Science of Yoga

The meaning of yoga is very common in that it links the word yoga to body posture and meditation system. However, the primitive form of yoga has deep spiritual significance and has been lost in today's body-centered world. Sanskrit language yoga has automatic roots Yuj. This means links and connections. When we talk about links and connections, there are obvious questions: what is linked to what? The term connected means that there must be two different entities separated from one another, and they need to be connected. Bhagavad-gita's yoga is the ultimate reality and absolute combination of skills. In his comments, Zaehner stated that the basic meaning of yoga is å”  Ã¥  ¨ or preparation and advocates the basic meaning of psychomotorism expressing various subtle nuances . Sivananda 's comment suggests that the 18 chapters of Bhagavad Gita have a phased order, and Krishna uses this chapter to bring Arjuna from step to yoga ladder. An influential commentator, Madhusudana Sarasvati , divided the 18 chapters of Gita into three chapters, each with six chapters. Swami Gambhirananda explained the system of Madhusudana Sarasvati as a continuous way that Karma Yoga led to Bhakti Yoga and led it to Gyaana Yoga. What is Bhagavad Gita? Bhagavad Gita is a scripture which is a story of the event that Lord Krishna revealed the ultimate science of the universe to Arjuna. Sir Krishna made it clear to him about the science of self-actualization. In this incident, Arjuna achieved self-fulfillment. Even today, after thousands of years of history, many people have read Bhagavad - gita to understand the last truth. I understand that Bhagavad Gita has reached a certain point of time, but is it possible to understand the exact meaning Shree Krishna tells Arjuna? What are the advantages of reading Sanskrit in this era? Reading Gita will help us achieve self-fulfillment? No! You need live enlightenment to achieve self-fulfillment, as you need to shine the candle to illuminate anothe r candle. Even today, it is possible to achieve self-fulfillment through the current spiritual master Pujya Deepakbhai who is blessed with Gnani Purush Dada Bhagwan.

Learning ,development- education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Learning ,development- education - Essay Example But as she reached the level of grade 6 her problems started. She started showing apathy for learning or in studies for that matter. From her own version it came to be known that she finds the instructional material difficult. Her inability to understand the learning material could be considered the actual cause of this gradual recoiling from studies. At this stage the main point of concern is the cause of Jenny’s decreasing grasping power or academic receptivity. Previous record shows that Jenny has no intelligence deficit or learning disability symptoms. So it is assumed that she is suffering from acute loss of motivation. At this point the transition to grade 6 or a comparatively higher educational grade has played a significant role in unnerving her. Being promoted to the senior class along with facing a new and qualitative standard of study material has probably created a mental block and as a result she has become demoralized and self-doubting. Her position can best be described as having lack of academic resilience (Martin, 2002). In education academic resilience among students is essential in persistently maintaining a standard because as one climbs to higher grades the standard of education increases and so does expectation from students. According to the expectancy value theory, students look for both motivation for success and the ‘incentive value of the goal’ (Hootstein, 1994). Jenny is facing this typical problem and as she cannot come out of it she is gradually getting de-motivated. From this point of view it could be said that Jenny has little academic resilience (Martin, 2002). Firstly she cannot understand that such a mental block and thereby loss of focus is natural and it is curable. Secondly Jenny has to develop resilience to accept failure and fight back with renewed energy. The promising part of Jenny’s case is that she has only lost her motivation that requires to be regained with proper care and guidance

Blue Ocean Strategy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Blue Ocean Strategy - Research Paper Example 2.0. Eliminate-Reduce-Raise-Create Grid Table 1. Eliminate-Reduce-Raise-Create Grid (ERRC) for Nintendo Wii  Eliminate Raise Game expansion packs Purchaser influence Simplicity / easy to play Reduce Create Gaming technology Health & lifestyle benefits Family experience 2.1. Eliminate Here BOS advances that Nintendo Wii has to look for those factors in the gaming industry that the industry has been competing on that can be done away with. Traditionally, in the Red Ocean, game expansion packs are utilised as a customer lock-in strategy. They are used to extend the gamers interest beyond the original version of the game. Nintendo Wii, unlike its competitors, does not offer expansion sets and this has enabled it to develop new value in two ways. Firstly, expansion sets lead to an extra cost to both manufacturer and users. By eliminating these expansion packs Nintendo Wii is able to save costs on production, distribution, promotion and sales. Secondly, these expansion sets needs serious gamers who are focused on extending their gaming experience beyond leisure. Expansion packs are also seen in some quarters as being as an unethical way of increasing customer loyalty through promotion of addiction (â€Å"Why are Video Games Addictive - Reasons & Theories,† 2011). The Wii targets the casual gamer who does not have that urge for an extended gaming experience. In fact, the Wii could use this to promote itself as the non-addictive gaming choice. 2.2. Reduce According to the Four Actions Framework at this juncture the Wii needs to determine whether products or services have been overdesigned in the race to match and beat the competition. Wii’s big competitors, Sony’s PlayStation 3 and Microsoft’s Xbox 360, have concentrated on differentiating their products through over-serving customers with provision of cutting-edge technologies such as increased graphics and HD. The benefits that these companies obtain through this strategy are marginal in comparison to the costs they incur. Kim and Mauborgne (2005) referred to this as increasing cost structure for no gain. PS3 and Xbox 360 are forced to provide cutting-edge game play because they are fighting over the same market of demanding, die-hard gamers. On the other hand, the Wii opted to focus on the three groups of noncustomers: those people at the market edge who are undecided, those that flat out refuse to purchase a Wii because they are committed to another system like the XBox 360, and the unexplored, who may not know about the Wii or possibly cannot afford it. Nintendo reduced their costs by going low tech and increased the value of the Wii by instead focusing on making it easy to understand, fun to play and highly interactive. According to Scott (2008) Nintendo expanded the market by making video games simpler and more accessible. 2.3. Raise As stated above the Wii utilised a strategy that was different from its rivals, focusing on raising the simplicity, fun an d interactivity of its games as its customer value proposition rather than using superior gaming technology as its value proposition. This is in line with the third action of the BOS Four Actions Framework which seeks to identify factors that need to be raised well-above the industry standards (Kim & Mauborgne,

The Film Miss Presentation and Mistreated Women Essay

The Film Miss Presentation and Mistreated Women - Essay Example In addition to this, only 16% of women are writers, directors, producers, cinematographers and editors. Patriarchy has unfortunately caused a poor representation of women in society. In this paper, I will analyze the power of the media and its influence on the role of women. The paper further dwells upon the effects of the negative image of women, created by media, which affects their position in society. The media has been continuously using women to its benefits, meeting the needs of the male audience. This has eventually had a negative effect on women and their representation and position in the world. This is because you can’t be what you can’t see. ‘The media is the message and the messenger’. These were the opening remarks in Pat Mitchell’s documentary. He is the president and CEO of the Paley Center for Media. Jackson Katz, the author of The Macho Paradox, argues that people learn much more from the media than from any other source. On the other hand, Jim Steyer the CEO of Common Sense Media argues that the media is delivering the content that is shaping our society. Even though 51% of the US population is women, only in very rare cases anyone of them achieves elite positions. The media is one of the key factors which are to blame for this. It makes and delivers the news and for this reason, most of the information we get from it is a result of the trends liked by the media. It has portrayed the males as dominant over the females. Patriarchy is evident and the female identity has been blurred. Nude pictures of attractive women are used all the time in magazines, movies and even on calendars and billboards on the streets. This all objectifies women and makes them a lifeless thing of desire and lust. The director of this film emphasizes that despite the high percentage of women in the US, only 17 of them are members of Congress. Since 1979, the first election of a woman to the  congress took place in 2010. This fact proves the evidence of patriarchy.

The Nude in Post World War II Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Nude in Post World War II Art - Essay Example But these movements were construed as being of European origin, and were considered essentially foreign to the United States. In the 1930s some American artists staged a strong rebellion against European influences in American art. Grant Wood's American Gothic was typical of a movement called regionalism, whose agenda was to celebrate what was typically American, and to do it in a style that avoided any references to European modernism. But for other American artists the regionalists' embrace of nationalism could only hinder the arts. Kenneth Clark, in his book, the Nude: A study in Ideal Form, studies the classic nude in Greek art. We observe that several of the factors that inspired interest in nudes then, are true today too. Thus, "the nude gains its enduring value from the fact that it reconciled several contrary states. It takes the most sensual and immediately interesting object, the human body, and puts it out of reach of time and desire; it takes the most purely rational concept of which mankind is capable, mathematical order, and makes it a delight to the senses; and it takes the vague fears of the unknown and sweetens them by showing that the gods are like men and may be worshiped for their life-giving beauty rather than their death-dealing power." The idea of "recThe idea of "reconciling contrary states" is, in fact, one of the most significant benefits of creating and viewing the nude. Our everyday life is littered with opposites with which we must somehow work and make sense. Realizing reconciliation in our corporal existence helps us to understand how this is accomplished. The body is both an object, inanimate and art-like, and a subject--a person, a personality. It is universal and yet individual and unique. It is an art form based on geometry, line and angle, light, shadow, meter-reading and lens distance as much as on spontaneous inspiration. The nude in nature reminds us that we are a part of the environment, while making it clear that really we are not. The industrial nude reminds us that we are man-made, yet we are separate from our creations. We see the beauty in the awkwardness of our bodies. We feel peace, although we remain ill at ease. We watch opposites work to create union--harmony despite conflict. All art is sensuous in that it heightens and delights the senses both in the making and the viewing. It is the transformation of the emotional into the physical, the spiritual into the corporal. It is the language of the unspeakable. It gives form to the intangible. It is the very act of extracting what is sacred within us and giving it shape in an experience which is sensual and, in its purest form, arousing. As previously noted, this arousal is efficiently sublimated in most art forms. We can safely enjoy the arousal of the art piece without defining the emotion. We are not suspicious or threatened by our feeling because we know that it is not in regards to the art object (ie: the piece of pottery or abstract sculpture). We are simply aroused by the art itself. The excitement of art is naturally true of figure art as well, but we suddenly become alarmed, because we fear we might be aroused by the subject matter. In truth, we are most likely responding to both the subject and the ar t

EProcurement Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

EProcurement - Article Example The efficiencies in the processes involved diminish organizational performance. To put this in context, one can consider how a product is sold to a customer. The transaction would appear to be simple, with a store selling the product on the shelf. But the process behind this is actually complex involving vast supply chain especially when the organization involved operates globally. It would mean that several players and variables are involved with products changing hands several times, crossing geographic and even political boundaries. Finally, there are the inefficiencies, which aggravate the system further, complicating them even more. They jack up costs affecting all stakeholders in the process. Suppliers, consumers and retailers each incur losses. One could also turn to the case of interoperability to support this further. It pertains to the capability by which different IT systems of firms and individuals communicate and operate. This has been a problematic issue because IT systems have different technical standards, in addition to the differences in policies in the international system with respect to access and release of information. This issue is critical because it affects the deployment and overall processes of e-commerce infrastructure. For example, a company may encounter difficulties in its e-invoicing system if its technical standards have different semantic characteristics with those of its customers or those other firms it transacts with. The semantic layer of an organizations e-procurement system concerns the analysis of data and their meaning and interpretation (Paunovic et al., 2012). Differences in IT systems would mean varying modes of reading and interpreting data, which could impact the way correct informa tion is communicated and interpreted from both ends. There is, hence, for a global standard that can address the inefficiencies of

Shouldice Hospital Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 71

Shouldice Hospital - Case Study Example The data indicate that some former patients had been attending the event for over thirty years. The most interesting fact is that out of 100 patients who attend Shouldice hospital one is a doctor. Past data indicates that the large patient turns up at Shouldice hospital is attributed to the efficiency and effectiveness of its service delivery (Chase, Jacobs & Aquilano, 2007). For example, the doctors employ superior techniques such as ambulation to ensure patients recover fist. There is the proper rapport between the nurses and the patient, this attracts patients to come back even after recovering. The management of Shouldice hospital has been faced by two options namely; whether to add one more operating to the hospital schedule or to add a second floor to the hospital by increasing bed capacity by 50%. Based on the Shouldice hospital data it can be observed that there are 5 major rooms for operation. The first room is utilized by a patient for recovery purposes, the second one is t he laboratory where patients are tested blood and other samples are tested to determine the disease that they could be suffering (Schumpelick & Fitzgibbons, 2007). There are other 6 rooms where patient’s health condition is examined. The data further indicates that the hospital had been having an average of ninety beds. This could only allow the doctors at Shouldice hospital to carry out 40 operations each day and an average of 7000 medical operations each year (Robert and Richard, 2012). Therefore, adding one operation day could increase the hospital capacity by 20%. This means that the current hospital capacity will be optimally utilized, this indicates that per year the hospital will be able to serve 1500 patients. However, it might be assumed that increasing an extra working day (Saturday) without increasing doctor’s remuneration could make the quality of service to decline because some workers might feel de-motivated.  

Different topics Annotated Bibliography Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Different topics - Annotated Bibliography Example In fact, Anderson conducted this study at the University of Massachusetts, and submitted it to the American Behavioral Scientist. As such, it would not appear that he was influenced in any way to alter his findings one way or the other. Having explored this site extensively, all information appears current and there are no missing or broken links. All articles cited in the study are detailed and quickly available for further reference. In short, this particular article appears to be a well-documented source that would help a great deal in my own study. Milne, G. R. (2000). Privacy and ethical issues in database/interactive marketing and public policy: A research framework and overview of the special issue. Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, 19(1), 1-6. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/30000482?uid=3739136&uid=2&uid=4&sid=47699091448147 Milne (2000) recounts the fact that privacy is of increasing concern. This is a public policy issue that does affect consumer and marketers. These concerns have been compounded by the growth of online marketing. Such marketing schemes have resulted in the Federal trade Commission becoming involved and placing such activities under review. This author makes the point that exchange mechanisms between marketers and consumers should be improved. In so doing, consumers will have more control over who has access to their personal information and under what terms. Mitrofan, O., & Spencer N. (2009). Is aggression in children with behavioral and emotional difficulties associated with television viewing and video game playing? A systematic review. Child: Care, Health, & Development, 35(1), 5-15. Doi:10.1111/j.1365-2214.2008.00912.x. The authors of this study are professors in the School of Health and Social Studies at the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom. They have previously published studies areas focusing on child aggression and the causes thereof. This study is designed to

City of Atlanta Essay Example for Free

City of Atlanta Essay Atlanta, the center of higher education in the South East United States with more than 15 colleges and universities, has a student population of over 77,117. Major universities include Emory University, University of Georgia, Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia State University, Kennesaw State University, and Oglethorpe University, which are all situated strategically in and around Atlanta. With an adult population of around 4,536,323, Atlanta is a key location that CoViTek should target. The average household income is between $50,000 $74,999 which compromises 21. 3% of the total population of the city. Students age 18-34 have an income that is between $30,000 $74,999 which compromises around 113,362 households. Atlantas congested areas include Clifton Rd. , College Park, UGA Campuses, and the Midtown area. Market Data Credit Card Usage: Over 3 million people in Atlanta own and use credit cards. 84% of the population has a Bank Card, 29% have gas/department store credit cards, and 18. 7% of the population has at least some kind of travel/entertainment credit cards. Only 200,255 of the population of the city do not carry credit cards. With 5. 8 million students enrolled in 4-year colleges around the United States, they have an aggregate spending power of more than $90 billion. $30 billion of the spending is from personal earning and parents. Almost two thirds of college students in Boston carry a credit card while spending an average of $1,213 per month, with up to 10% of expenditures on some form of entertainment, including video rentals. CoViTek will have to hire a market research firm to indicate (in each city): 1. Average spending dollar per household on video rentals a year 2. Total number of students who rent videos (how many per year) 3. Total students with the relevant purchasing power 4. Entrepreneurial activity in and around the city 5. An overall business climate, which includes: consideration of transportation, banking, professional services, economic base, and growth trends Travel / Entertainment 425,723 13. 2% Bank Cards 1,912,341 59. 6% Gas / Department Stores 669,319 20. 8% No Credit Cards 200,255 6. 4% Credit card usage/ year in the city of Atlanta. Areas of Volume We will also need to negotiate with all kind of locations that drive a lot of traffic such as stores, buildings, and large apartment complexes. We are interested in any strategic location that is frequented by a high volume of pedestrians. We would also have to negotiate with them the same terms of revenue sharing agreements as with the universities. Nevertheless, we see a very interesting opportunity in negotiating alliances with retail chains that occupy strategic locations such as Starbucks. We would offer such companies with profit sharing plans in CoViTek, and in return, we would get the right to implement a machine outside their stores. This type of agreement would enable us to gain several key locations, saving us time and money. Metro Stations The T in Boston is the most frequently used method of transportation, which accounts for more than 695,000 passengers a day. Other forms of transportation include buses and taxis. A large percentage of professionals use the T every day for commuting back and forth from work. Marketing CoViTeks advertising plan will be based around the individual cities we choose to place machines in. Our first city, Atlanta, was selected because the CEO and COO live and work there. Advertising on college campuses can be very inexpensive, and we will focus our efforts there. At least one machine will be on each of the following schools campuses: Georgia State University, UGA, and Emory University. Our advertising methods for all of our campus locations will be similar. We will target residence halls and popular campus locations with posters and fliers posted on campus bulletin boards, distributed in residence halls, and advertisements in the schools newspaper. Campus advertising should not cost more than $1,000 per school, most likely less, depending on the schools population. We will also hire a full-service advertising agency, but not until we expand to other cities. We want to see how much awareness we can achieve in Atlanta without an agency campaign. Once we expand to other cities, we will need an agency to create a consistent and strategic brand image for CoViTek. All of our advertising will stress our convenience and value, to deliver a clear brand image in the consumers mind. In addition to our marketing efforts, CoViTek will employ a variety of other marketing strategies: Viral Marketing CoViTek will aggressively target and distribute e-mails to potential consumers featuring promotional deals, newly released videos, as well as a direct link to CoViTeks web page. Public Relation CoViTek will use a top New Media public relations firms to promote the company and secure write-ups in prominent Internet/Technology and business magazines. Online Advertising CoViTek will place online banner advertisements on popular B2C web sites that our profile user would frequent. Feedback We will encourage our customer to give us feedback on what they would like to see in our machines through our and offer them incentives to do so such as free rental or coupons. While our selection will be smaller than our brick and mortar competitor, our market will be more targeted. Rather than having everything, we are striving to provide our market with the exact products that meet their needs. Thus this narrower selection can be seen as an advantage for us as it demands that our company remains focused on our customers and our competitors, to ensure that we are providing our customers with what they want to see. We will also encourage our customers to give us feedback on what they would like to see in our machines. This will be done through our website by offering incentives and free rental coupons. Distribution Michel Khoury and Sina Mouloud will be in charge of the maintenance of up to ten machines at one point in time. We will hire students as our operation expands onto more universities across the US. Suppliers Video Vending North American VVNA is the creator and market leader in the production of video rental machines. Its system is exclusive in its combination of both VHS and DVD formats. VVNA has been manufacturing video-dispensing machines since the early 90s. VVNA machines are the most innovative and modernized in the market. To maintain the maximum market value of their products, VVNA manufactures sturdy, reliable machines, made to last many years and capable of providing thousands of rentals without requiring machine alteration. VVNA machines have been designed using a unique, patented technology proven to provide the markets most reliable and safe equipment, while reducing the level of maintenance intervention to a minimum. A central computer is used to remotely manage all the dispensers via DSL networks. Personalization of the Video Dispensers VVNA, the manufacturer of the video vending machines is willing to customize the design of the machine for us. Therefore we need to develop a design for our machine that will efficiently promote our company. The design and the logo must attract attention while being contemporary and functional. We want the machine to catch the attention of pedestrians who walk by the machine in order to drive more traffic to it. Production Companies Ninety percent of our videotapes will come from one of the six major production companies (Buena Vista, Warner Bros. , Universal, Fox, Paramount, or Columbia-Tri-Star). The power of these suppliers is very high, as they hold the rights of the movies they produce. We will be working with Video Bicicling. They will give us a competitive price on Videos and DVD. Our experience has shown us that it is better to own a rentable video in order to use it for resale after complete amortization. This system will allow us to sell the movies that are not in high demand after using their complete value in rental time. CoViTek may consider the selling of consumer information gathered from their database technology to research companies primarily dealing with entertainment studies.

Health Information Technology Paper Essay Example for Free

Health Information Technology Paper Essay The facility that of Health Care that I have chosen is Bradford Oaks Nursing Rehabilitation Center, Genesis Healthcare, Clinton Md, 20735. This Nursing home is a Long-term and Short-term nursing home with one level floor holding 180 beds and the facility tries to keep the census up to 170 beds. They are owned by Genesis Healthcare, the population that is served there are 80 percent elderly and the other 10 percent is between the age of 21 and up the younger generation. They offer all types of services at the facility as far as Rehab, Long-term care, Short-term Care, Respite Care, and Hospice Care. There are a very good facility that have accreditation of GENESIS HEALTHCARE RECOGNIZED AS ONE OF THE ACHIEVERS 50 MOST ENGAGED WORKPLACESâ„ ¢ IN THE UNITED STATES, Genesis HealthCare receives Viverae’s 2012 Vanguard Award for developing a healthier workplace culture. The Users of the Health Information at Bradford Oaks Nursing Rehabilitation Center are Physicians who provide the services our patients and residents need in a compassionate and caring environment. Whether it is helping ideas be heard or working to build cooperation amongst business teams. We have Nurses (LPN)-Licensed Practical Nurses One that can provide the services our patients and residents need in a compassionate and caring environment. Whether it is enhancing clinical skills, developing leadership capabilities, or providing strong foundations for career development. We Have (RN) Registered Nurse Use strong physical assessment skills and mastery of fine nursing principles to manage a range of acute care and rehabilitation patients. They develop and implement individualized care plans for patients while assisting with orientation and supervision of nursing staff. Of Course the administrator who plans, organized, direct, and control the operations of a nursing home or its equiva lent (other long-term personal care facilities with or without nursing services) based on policies established by the owner or governing board. We also have the Support Services which are adult day care, meal programs (like Meals-on-wheels), senior centers, friendly visitor programs, help with shopping and transportation, help with legal question, bill paying, or other financial matters. The way we access Health Information is by Paper Medical Records and Electronic Records. The paper records are accessed through medical records clerk in medical records by giving the name and DOB. The Electronic Records are accessed with a system named PointClickCare, threw Genesis Healthcare. There are plenty of systems they used in the facility but PointClickCare is the system that is used threw out the whole building. In different department and everybody PointClickCare is different. They use a system call E-discharged for referrals that are sent from the hospital to the facility regarding a patients clinical information of a patient who either needs long-term care or short-term care needs. They also use a system called (IRM) Intake Referral Management where referrals are sent straight to the facility for patients that either need help with long-term healthcare or short-term healthcare. Some of the system that are used under the PointClickCare System are registration, billing, co ding, computerized physician order entry (CPOE), and nursing system and finance system. I would classify this system based on the description of my Him interviewer is Clinical Support. The functions of this system as explained by my interviewer (R,Shalita,2013) was that the purpose is to have good time management on all of their work and system, getting information at a fast pace and a safe and secure system to protect patient information. The system doesn’t connect/interface with other systems, the system is not user friendly you need a username and password to login and everyone PointClickCare is different depending on their department. This system is very secure, they have vendors to support the maintenance and updated of the systems, especially Genesis Healthcare does have to call their 1-800 number. The strengths of their system is time efficient, communication is clear, its visual to everyone that uses it, give automatic updates, on a patient or if the department updates anything. The PointClickCare HER platform provides an integrated approach to the management of long-term care. By connection clinical, billing, and administration processes across a single, web based platform, information is only entered once, duplicate documentations avoided, staff have more time to spend with residents, errors are reduced, and RUGs are optimized. The templates are completely customizable, they provide consistent, complete, and accurate data. The notes for similar types of exams will appear to be standard and similar, each click adds data elements to the database. Point and click systems create data that can be used to generate clinically useful reports, such as health maintenance reminders and disease management. One of the major advantages of template-based charting is the speed with which i t can make the document available as a medical record. Since notes are created within the EMR, they are available immediately upon completion. There are weakness of the system it takes more time and definitely more concentration for a physician to navigate through a large data set and create progress notes using poingclickcare templates. Templates must by customized per the physician’s requirement, customization can be inflexible and costly. Templates are well-accepted by only tech-savvy doctors, any approach requiring direct data entry by the physician has generally failed because busy providers reject it altogether. The output form these templates is too canned and identical, it loses individuality for each patient. It is difficult for a provider to capture a complete patient encounter on a computer in front of a patient. I learned a lot details about planning, design, implementation, and maintence of the system. The technology section for the long-term care organization reaches beyond software evaluation. Considerations of implementation, training, and support are usually important for holistic care provider solution. PointClickCare’s resources in these critical areas ensure immediate and strategic client success. Implementation services are certified industry experts deliver the best-practices of nearly 5,000 implementations. Dedicated account teams form a strong relationship between PointClickCare and our clients proven methodologies remove risk On-demand and on-site implementation and training offers flexibility in delivery and investment, Support provides the right answers at the right time. Training services are End-user adoption will ultimately drive the success of any technology. PointClickCare’s thorough training programs, delivered onsite, online, or through the application, ar m users with the skills to use PointClickCare on day one: A combination of onsite, web, and on-demand training programs for end-users. Credentialed industry and product expert trainers dedicated to client success during and post-implementation. Ongoing subscriptions for retraining existing or new staff. Support Services are when it comes to technology, your business can’t afford to wait for assistance. PointClickCare’s highly responsive, regionally-dedicated support teams and technical account managers (TAMs) get clients the answers they need, when they need them. PointClickCare’s support organization prevents interruption to operations, freeing clients to focus on their core business: get answers quickly with regular and emergency support types. The right support at the right time with 3 tiers of problem escalation regionally dedicated teams understand and can provide solutions to localized issues. On-Demand resources (Customer Resource Center) provides end-use r support directly within the application. I found that the system PointclickCare is very secure and organized HER, and the PointClickCare is adding more customers per month than any other vendor on the market. That’s because their web-based solutions are uniquely designed to help long-term care providers of all sizes manage the complete lifecycle of resident care. From pre-admission to discharge, our integrated approach to EHR streamlines clinical, MDS, billing, and administrative processes with maintenance-free software that is as robust as it is easy to use. Some of the key strengths where that they provide consistent, complete, and accurate data. The weakness of the system were that It takes more time—and definitely more concentration—for a physician to navigate through a large data set and create progress notes using point-and-click templates. There could be improve as far as the weakness but I believe that as time goes on and the system continues to get updated they will fix the little issue the sys tem has as of right now. Reference (Healthcare Center, Genesis, (2012). Our Services. Retrieved form, http://www.genesishcc.com/our-services/our-services-overview) (R. Shalita, Personal Communication, August 15, 2013) (Wessinger, Mike, (2000-2013). PointClickCare. Retrieved from, http://www.pointclickcare.com/corp_site/company/management.jsp)

Comparative Study Between TBP and Dibutylalkyl Phosphonates

Comparative Study Between TBP and Dibutylalkyl Phosphonates CHAPTER 7 PHOSPHONATES AS ALTERNATIVE TO TBP FOR ACTINIDES AND FISSION PRODUCTS Solvent extraction studies of U (VI), Th (IV), Eu (III) and Tc (VII) in dibutylalkyl phosphonates have been carried out in present study. Uptake of these metal ion and formation of metal-ligand bond is a direct consequence of phosphorus-carbon bond and to understand the influence of these changes in the bond was the main objective for the present study. Thus synthesis and solvent extraction studies of Dibutyl Propyl Phosphonate (DBPrP) and Dibutyl Pentyl Phosphonate (DBPeP) were carried and were compared with those available for Tributyl Phosphate (TBP). Thus this study will represent a comparative study between TBP and dibutylalkyl phosphonates. 7.1 Introduction Spent nuclear fuel (SNF) is a complex system with large number of elements and there isotopes which are produced during the nuclear fission of U and Pu. These spent fuel rods containing activation products along with fission products needs to be dealt while reprocessing and waste management of SNF which is carried out at reprocessing plant. TBP a triester of phosphoric acid is a major extractant used for nuclear fuel reprocessing that is Plutonium Uranium Extraction PUREX processes worldwide for the separation of uranium and plutonium from the dissolver solution [1]. Even though it has been a workhorse in nuclear industry since long period there are major drawbacks like its significant solubility in aqueous phase, third phase formation during macro level extraction of tetravalent actinides in nitric acid medium, low selectivity of U and Pu over Zr and Ru and presence of chemical and radiolytic degradation products of TBP viz. monobutyl and dibutyl phosphoric acid are responsible for lowering the decontamination factor (DF) [2-6]. Significant research in the scientific community using higher homologs of TBP has shown that they are more resistant to third phase formation and aqueous solubility. Basicity of the phosphoryl oxygen and the nature of substituents attached to the P atom are key factor responsible for the extraction ability of any organophosphorus extractant. Enhancement of the basicity on the phosphoryl group may be achieved by replacement of C-O-P group directly by C-P group. Neutral organophosphorus extractants show the variation in the basicity of the phosphoryl oxygen as phosphine oxide > phosphinates > phosphonates > phosphates [7]. Studies in the past have reported that phosphonates are better extractants for the extraction of uranium and thorium as compared to that with corresponding phosphates [8, 9]. In the nuclear reprocessing industry dibutylalkyl phosphonate was found to be one of the promising candidates as a replacement for TBP. Lower D values than that of corresponding phosphinates and phosphorus oxide makes stripping easier in case of phosphonates. The main objective of this study was to focus on the potential extraction capabilities of U (VI), Th (IV), Eu (III) and Tc (VII) which are relevant from nuclear fuel cycle view point by the phosphonates DBPrP and DBPeP. 7.2 Synthesis of Dibutylalkyl Phosphonates Phosphonates used in the present study was synthesized using Michaelis Becker reaction [10]. In this reaction equimolar amount of sodium is allowed to react with dialkylhydrogen phosphonate and dialkylsodium phosphonate thus obtained is further allowed to react with alkyl halides and final product with P-C bond is obtained. Figure 7.1 Michaelis-Becker Reaction Preset reaction involves nucleophilic substitution of phosphorus on alkyl halide to yield phosphonate as shown in the figure below. Figure 7.2 Mechanism for Michaelis-Becker Reaction The preparation of these phosphonates were carried out in a refluxation unit by drop wise addition of dibutylhydrogen phosphate over a period of 30 minutes to the reaction mixture i.e. sodium (1.15g, 0.05 mol) + hexane (100 mL). The addition of dibutylhydrogen phosphate was continued until the dissolution of sodium was complete. After this complete reaction mixture was stirred under gentle refluxation for about 4 hours during which 1-bromoalkane was added over a period of half-an-hour. This reaction mixture was then washed with water after cooling it at room temperature after which the product was distilled using reduced pressure to get rid of impurities. 7.3 Mechanism of Extraction in Dibutylalkyl Phosphonates Uptake of metal ions from the aqueous phase using dibutylalkyl phosphonates is by formation of neutral complex formation. Solvation of metal ion takes place by nitrate ion which is the aqueous phase used in the present studies. Then the solvation of these neutral metal nitrate species takes place with the help of dibutylalkyl phosphonate which gets extracted be the organic phase. MX+aq + X NO3 + nDBAPorg M(NO3)X.nDBAPorg Following equation gives the equilibrium constant for the above reaction Keq = [M(NO3)X.nDBAP]org / [MX+aq] [NO3]X[DBAPorg]n Distribution ratio (D) is the ratio of activity of metal ion in organic phase to that in the aqueous phase at equilibrium, which can be rearranged and represented in the following way. D = Keq [NO3] X[DBAPorg]n Distribution ratio depends on the concentration of nitrate ions and concentration of extractant. There is always a rise in the D value as the nitrate ion concentration increases while the fall at higher acidity indicates the extraction of nitric acid. 7.4 Solvent Extraction Studies Extraction of U (VI), Th (IV), Eu (III) and Tc (VII) with were carried out in a plastic tube with preequliberated organic phase that comprised of 1.1 M DBPrP and DBPeP in n-dodecane. 2 mL of preequliberated extractant was agitated with 2 mL of nitric acid in a shaking incubator at 25 0C for 1 hour. After the equilibration the two phases were allowed to separate and were analysed for the metal ion content using suitable technique. 7.4.1 Extraction studies of nitric acid Around 2 mL of various concentrations of nitric acid (0.1-6M) were taken in an equilibration tube and equilibrated with 1.1 M DBPrP/DBPeP, n-dodecane at room temperature for an hour. The nitric acid concentration in both the phases was determined by acid-base titration. Figure below depicts the uptake of nitric acid in DBPrP and DBPeP compared with the available literature values of TBP. As observed from the plot it is clear that D values in case of phosphonates are higher as compared with that of TBP which is the direct consequence of the higher basicity of the phosphonates. Prasanna et al. have reported that the changes in alkyl group structure do not have significant affect on extraction of nitric acid [11]. 7.4.2 Extraction Studies of U (VI) After the equilibration the two phases were separated and analysed for U (VI) content spectrophotometrically using Arsenazo-III as chromogenic agent [12]. Organic phase concentration was estimated by subtracting concentration of U (VI) in equilibrated aqueous phase from the initial feed concentration. Below figure shows the comparative data for the uptake of U (VI) in TBP, DBPeP and DBPrP in the complete nitric acid range (0.1-6 M). There was a constant increase in the uptake of U (VI) metal ion with the increase in nitric acid concentration. Also the observed increase in the uptake of U (VI) as TBP Figure 7.3 Variation of DU(VI) as the function of acid concentration for Dibutylalkyl phosphonates at 25 0C 7.4.3 Extraction Studies of Th (IV) Figure 7.4 depicts the variation of extraction behavior of Th (IV) by 1.1 M of TBP, DBPrP and DBPeP extraction in n-dodecane under identical conditions. As expected there is a constant rise in the D values as the concentration of nitric acid goes on increasing. Also higher analogs of neutral organophosphorus extractant shows the higher uptake which is again a direct conciquence of the increased bascicity on phophoryl oxygen the highest uptake of Th (IV) is Figure 7.4 Variation of DTh(IV) as the function of acid concentration for Dibutylalkyl phosphonates at 25 0C 7.4.4 Extraction Studies of Europium (III) Figure 7.5 Variation of DEu(III) as the function of acid concentration for Dibutylalkyl phosphonates at 25 0C 7.4.5 Extraction Studies of Technetium (VII) Figure 7.3 Variation of DTc(VII) as the function of acid concentration for Dibutylalkyl phosphonates at 25 0C References Schulz, W.W.; Berger, L.L.; Navratil, J.D. Eds.; Science and Technology of TBP; RC Press: Boca Raton, FL, 1990; Vol. 3. Crouse, D.J.; Arnold, W.D.; Hurst, F.J. Proceedings of the International Solvent Extraction Conference (ISEC’83), Denver, Colorado, 1983; pp 90–96. Marcus, Y.; Kertes, A.S. Ion Exchange and Solvent Extraction of Metal Complexes; Wiley- Interscience, New York, 1969; p 953–954. Kolarik, Z. Proc. International Solvent Extraction Conference, Toronto, Canada; Lucas, B. H., Ritcey, G. M., Smith, H. N., Eds.; 1977; Vol. 1. Kertes, A. S. Solvent Extraction Chemistry of Metals; McKay, H. A. C., Healy, T.V., Jenkins, I. L., Naylor. A, Eds.; Macmillan: NY, 1965; p. 377–379. Srinivasan, T. G.; Ahmed, M. K.; Shakila, A.M.; Damodaran, R.; Vasudeva Rao, P. R.;Mathews, C. K. Third phase formation in the extraction of Pu by TBP. Radiochim. Acta. 1986, 40, 151–154. Berger, L. L. Uranium and plutonium extraction by organophosphorus compounds. J. Phys. Chem. 1958, 62, 590–593. Siddall,T.H., III. Trialkylphosphates and dialkylalkylphoshonates in uranium and thorium extraction. Ind. Eng. Chem. 1959, 51(1), 41–44. Madigan, D.C.; Cattrall, R.W. The extraction of thorium from nitrate solution by dibutylbutyl phosphonate. J. Inorg. Nuclear Chem. 1961, 21, 334–338. Kosalapoff, G.M. Isomerisation of alkylphosphites. III. The synthesis of n-alkylphosphonic acids. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1945, 67, 1180–1182. R. Prasanna, A. Suresh, T.G. Srinivasan, P.R. Vasudeva Rao, Extraction of nitric acid by some trialkyl phosphates, J. Radioanal. Nucl. Chem., 222 (1-2) (1997) 231-234. Perez-Bustamante, J. A.; Palomares Delgado, F. The extraction and spectrophotometric determination of sexavalent uranium with Arsenazo III in aqueous-organic media. Analyst 1971, 96, 407–422. Kalina, D.G.; Mason, G.W; Horwitz, E.P. The thermodynamics of extraction of U(VI) and Th(IV) from nitric acid by neutral phosphorus based organic compounds, J Inorg. Nucl. Chem. 1981, 43, 159–163.

Macbeth the Tragic Hero :: essays research papers

Macbeth the Tragic Hero The most tragic hero was Macbeth. A tragic hero is one who commits an act and suffers tremendously for it. Just as all tragic heroes, Macbeth made decisions that led him to his doom. His actions were influenced by his wife, Lady Macbeth, and the Witches? prophecies. He was greatly haunted by his desire of being King and to remain King. His noble characteristic slowly downgraded to a violent and cruel individual as the story progresses. Macbeth once used to be a brave gentleman. He was well respected around Scotland and earned much trust from almost everyone. When the King said, ?For brave Macbeth ? (1.2.18),? we can interpret that even the King himself respected Macbeth. He goes out to war, defeat enemies, and save his country, his life was put on the line for the entire Scotland. He earned himself the titles Thane of Cawdor and Thane of Glamis. In war, he is a well rounded warrior?he kills many on the battlefield without hesitation. But when he had to kill King Duncan, it took more than courage for him to commit the murder. It might be a cowardly act to murder a King in order to gain his throne, but the courage he mustered in order to actually kill King Duncan was bravery. Added to the fact that King Duncan is Macbeth?s own relative plays an important role on how much it took for Macbeth to kill. But unfortunately, Macbeth used his bravery for evil intents rather than for good. Guilt played a tragic role in Macbeth?s downfall. After killing Duncan, he was haunted by his actions and couldn?t move on without worrying that his murder was going to be exploited. From the quote, ?Will all great Neptune?s ocean wash this blood? (2.2.60),? we can assume that Macbeth was worried of whether or not his guilt will vanquish. There was no turning back for him. As the story progresses, the only solution for maintaining his reign of Scotland was to kill. His close friend, Banquo, was also murdered because Macbeth assumed doing so would be best in order to prevent losing his throne. But little did Macbeth know that he was actually being killed by his own mind and ambitions Another important factor that brought catastrophe to Macbeth was the Witches? prophecies. His superstition was noted by his susceptibility to the Witches? predictions. If the Witches never told Macbeth that he was going to be the King of Scotland, he would have been his ordinary self and not ponder upon those thoughts.

National Debt and Budget :: Argumentative Economy Economics Papers

National Debt and Budget For twenty-six years in a row our nation has been under deficit spending, with only one balanced budget since 1961. The Nixon administration had the last balanced budget with a $3 billion surplus in the fiscal year of 1969. With all these years of deficit spending the National Debt has grown to over $4.9 billion. Our government needs to stop overspending and start reducing the amount on the debt. We are putting the Debt on a generation that doesn't get to vote. We are spending money now that will they have to repay at higher taxes. This is wrong. (http://www2.csn.net/~tshellen/speech.html) One of the best ways we can give our government the power to get and to keep the budget in balance is to ammend the Constitution. There are three basic ways to getting the budget balanced: raise taxes, cutspending or a combination of both. There are two basic rules in applying this policy: 1-eliminate all the waste, fraud, pork, and abuse, 2-we all have to share in the sacrifice of spending cuts. No special interest groups can be exempt. (http.texas.net/users/andyn/deficit/zdpview.html) It is estimated by the year 2000 the Debt will reach $456 billion. Congress ahs enacted legislation along the general outlines of president Clinton's economic plan, without the economic stimulus spending he proposed. As a result the projected debt is forecast to be $251 billion.(http://www.texas.net/users/andyn/deficit/zdpview.html) Now the governmant has shut down all non-essential services in an attempt to "hard nose" a budget through the senate and congress. This isn't the first time the gov't has been shut down. It happened in Nov. 1981 when Reagan vetoed an emergency money bill, again in Oct.

Opposing Gender Views in Emerson’s Give All to Love and Browning’s Sonn

Opposing Gender Views in Emerson’s Give All to Love and Browning’s Sonnet 43  Ã‚        Ã‚   The concept of love has long been the preferred topic of conversation among prominent male poets. Towards the closing of the sixteenth century, however, the emerging of the female poet took place. With the introduction of Queen Elizabeth, an initial path was now cleared for future women poets to share their views on the acclaimed topic of love. Due to this clashing of ideas, the conflicting views of two exceedingly different sexes could manifest itself. Who better to discuss the topic of love then Elizabeth Barrett Browning, who expresses her ideas with intelligence comparable to the best male poets, and Emerson, world renowned for his poignant opinions? In accordance with the long history of conflict between males and females, both Emerson’s "Give All to Love" and Browning’s "Sonnet 43" convey the pleasure love brings, but while Emerson’s poem urges the retention of individualism in a relationship, Browning pleads for a complete surrender to love. Ralph Waldo Emerson has a strong history of aggressive, "masculine" behavior. "We hear his grand, assuring words, feel his powerful charm†¦he is impenetrable" (Whicher 39). Emerson felt that it was necessary to retain his self-dependence at all times, never swaying from his personal choices. "He taught self-reliance and felt self distrust, worshipped reality and knew illusion, proclaimed freedom and submitted to fate" (Whicher 40). Although Emerson’s confidence in his self may have reflected some sort of macho-ism or frigidness, this attitude is simply Emerson demonstrating his cool and relaxed charma: "Emerson is teaching his tested secret of insulation from calamity: ‘Live in the soul’" (Whic... ...iscarded on a whim. Rather, it is something that will accompany you far beyond your years on this earth and through all of time. It is truly a gift and should not be treated in any other regards.    Works Cited Magill, Frank. "Biography of Elizabeth Barrett Browning." Critical Survey of Poetry 1 (1992): 394-396. Mermin, Dorthy. "Sonnets from the Portuguese." World Literature Criticism 1 (1992): 360-365. Patmore, Coventry. "Mrs. Browning’s Poems." North British Review 26 (1857): 446-447. Perry, Bliss. "Emerson Today." Princeton University Press (1931): 84-86. Radley, Virginia. "Elizabeth Barrett Browning." Exploring Poetry-Gale Research (1972): pg. #5. Whicher, Stephan E. "Emerson’s Tragic Sense." Emerson, a Collection of Critical Essays (1962): 39-45. Yannella, David. "Artful Thunder." Poetry Criticisms 18 (1982): 69-96.      

Flexible Learning Essay

Education is a broadly debated topic, now there is a new concept emerging, ’flexible learning’. This essay will discuss what is understood by this term and how it could affect the way of the future in education. Furthermore it will discuss how flexible learning has engaged technology and how it has made education more accessible and equitable. Next it will demonstrate how individual students have benefited through the use of technology with flexible learning, and how students are able to be the central focus of their own education. Technology brings with it many advantages for the future of education, however not without some setbacks, this essay will also discuss these. This essay will argue that because of the increasing accessibility and improvements in technology, flexible learning should be the way of the future in education. Flexible learning is quickly becoming the way of the future for education, as it engages and implements the use of sophisticated technology. According to George and Luke (cited in Andrews & Ferman 2001) flexible learning is a multi-directional approach to learning using different methods of delivery. On the other hand, Nunan (cited in Andrews & Ferman 2001, p. 2) considers that ‘flexible delivery is often taken to mean the same thing as increasing flexibility in learning’. Summarising Harmes (2010) explains flexible learning engages technology, allowing the use of the internet, e-mail, and other digital interactive technology. It also allows the student to freely access online lectures and study material and more importantly it enables teachers to position the student as the central focus of the learning experience. This can be seen at universities including the relatively new University of Queensland campus at Ipswich who are using technology to promote flexible learning. It was in fact the purpose built with this in mind; and included computer rooms, a self-directed learning centre and even wireless laptops (Andrews&Ferman 2001). Another example of flexible learning is discussed by Huijser, Bedford and Bull (2008) who describe the Tertiary Preparation Program (TPP); this is a course which is accessed online and on-campus. TPP students can engage in online lectures, Wimba classrooms and forums, study material can also be submitted online and feedback returned to student, again online. Using technology students have engaged in flexible learning all over Australia, including international students. Furthermore TPP is currently funded by the government making it free; this allows students to prepare for higher study prior to investment. The outcome of this should be a higher intake of fee paying students, which in turn should lead to increased government funding for universities. Flexible learning through technology has made education more accessible and therefore equitable. Harmes (2010) discusses how the internet has increased the number of students to able to study degrees through online study material and lectures. As a result of technological advances the world has become a â€Å"global village â€Å"and students can participate in a global classroom. Worldwide opportunities using technology and flexible learning should be funded locally (Zhao 2009). Ultimately this will enable there to be proximity through distance, and will allow students to study anytime and anywhere, thus making education more equitable explains Harmes (2010). There are students from as far away as remote Western Australia studying through the University of Southern Queensland (USQ). They are able to access all the lectures and tutorials online, and USQ plans to offer many more academic programs online by 2012 (The Chronicle 2009). ‘Technology is the tool used to provide a facility for a teacher facilitated, learner centred environment’ (Bonanno, 2005). It is only through the many improvements and advances in technology that education has been so accessible and with it flexible learning has been implemented. Flexible learning has made education more accessible because, study is teacher facilitated and enables the student to be positioned as the central focus of education. According to Harmes there are many benefits of flexible learning, students are able to access their study any time they like, and this means that they are able to co-ordinate study around work and family life. The flexibility that technology provides has enabled students to study at their own pace (Andrews& Ferman, 2001). Additionally students have a sense of freedom with their study, slotting it in whenever they please. Knowles (cited in Choy and Delahaye 2002) researched how adult learners are more likely to be motivated and experienced in life, and that they are ready to embrace learning with deeper appreciation and understanding. Knowles (1973) continues by discussing how this self-driven learning is assisted through flexible delivery and how students benefit from a mature independent approach to education with the option for teacher help when needed. As a result of this Bonanno suggests that with good self-discipline and time management students are able to have freedom and access to study anytime and place, thus enabling many styles of learning. Technology has increased the flexibility that students have, thus allowing greater access to education. Despite the fact that education has embraced technology, there are still some problems which must be resolved. According to Ralston (1999) it appears that although many have embraced technology for learning, there are still many who are either too afraid to or do not have the skills and confidence to do so. Furthermore he suggests that that those who do not attempt to engage technology will be severely disadvantaged, because the twenty-first century is the age of technology. Andrews and Ferman (2000) noted on their study of the University of Queensland, -Ipswich campus that many students found the course material limited, that there was a lack of structure, and there were also a significant number of technical difficulties. Additionally Bonanno (2005) discusses some of the disadvantages of technology and states that the learner can easily lose motivation partly due to a lack of classroom spirit and teacher facilitated learning. Technology can be out of date or difficult to understand and often it can be confusing and sometimes it can just be that there is no technical support available. Bonanno’s (2005) comments that many problems occurring are learner related and that in order to be successful the learner must be self-motivated and have a reasonable degree of self-competency. She also comments that the facilitator or teacher must be motivated as well and be able to produce engaging study material for the student to work with; they must also be able to direct, listen and support students. Despite some complications, changes in technology help to make sure education is more accessible and equitable. Universities are able to capture larger numbers of students enabling more funding from the government. Students are able to be in control of their own education pathway and are able to be flexible about when and where they choose to study. Students can also choose to study gregariously in online classrooms and even traditional classrooms. Problematic areas will in time be improved as technology upgrades on a daily basis; including faster internet options. With this evolving technology people’s knowledge and experience will increase and in time student numbers and study options will grow. It is realistic that flexible learning will be and indeed should be the way of the future in education and that there will be a worldwide classroom. References Andrews, T & Ferman, T 2001, ‘The flexible learning experience – how good is it really? ’ in L Richardson & J Lidstone (eds), Flexible learning for a flexible society, pp. 39-45. Proceedings of ASET-HERDSA 2000 Conference, Toowoomba, Qld, 2-5 July 2000. ASET and HERDSA http://www. aset. org. au/confs/aset-herdsa2000/procs/andrews-t. html. Bonanno, K 2005, ‘Online learning : the good the bad and the ugly’, Proceedings of the XIX Biennial Conference – Meeting the Challenge, Australian School Library Association, Zillmere, QLD, pp. 1-7 Choy, SC & Delahaye, BL 2002, ‘Andragogy in vocational education and training: learners’ perspective’, Proceedings of the Fifth Annual Conference, Australian Vocational Education and Training Research Association (AVETRA), Melbourne, VIC University of Southern Queensland 2009, ‘University offers online options to its students’, The Chronicle, 10 Jul, p. 41. Collis, B & Moonen, J 2002, Flexible learning in a digital world: experiences and expectations, Kogan Page, London, UK, pp. 8-10,17,26-27. Harmes, M 2011,TPP7120 Studying to succeed ,Appendix 3’Flexible and Blended Learning’, University of Southern Queensland,Toowoomba,viewed 25 September 2011,http://usqstudydesk. usq. au/ Huijser, H, Bedford, T & Bull, D 2008, ‘OpenCourseWare global access and the right to education: real access or marketing ploy? ‘, International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 1-13. Ralston, P 1999, ‘Education for IT equity’, The Australian, 12 Jan, p. 44. Zhao, Y 2009, Catching up or leading the way: American education in the age of globalization, ASCD, Alexandria, VA, pp. 98-113.

Canadas First Past the Post System

In Canada Federal and Provincial First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) elections are based on single member districts or ridings. Each riding chooses one candidate to elect into parliament. In order to win a candidate must obtain the highest number of votes but not necessarily the majority of votes. The party that wins the most ridings is named the official government of Canada with the second place party becoming the official opposition. The (FPTP) system is also known as the ‘winner-take-all' system, in which the candidate with the most votes gets elected. FPTP voting methods can be used for single and multiple member elections.In a single member election the candidate with the highest number, not necessarily a majority, of votes is elected. This system is used in Canada, UK, US, and India. Many Canadians are not happy with the current First Past the Post system currently in place for electing parliamentary officials provincially and federally. I think that Canada’s First Past th e Post parliamentary electoral system should be changed because it favors tactical voting; it has a negative effect on smaller parties; and opens up the possibility of gerrymandering constituencies.A new electoral system that is more proportional is needed in order to address these problems. There are a few problems that arise out of the FPTP system. One of the most important problems is the tendency for FPTP to favor tactical voting. Tactical voting happens when voters cast their votes for one of the two candidates that are most likely to win. This is done because it is perceived by the voter that their vote will be wasted if they were to choose to vote for a smaller party, which they would more prefer. This is an understandable feeling by the voter because only votes for the winning candidate actually count (Blais, 2008).The position is sometimes summed up, in an extreme form, as â€Å"All votes for anyone other than the second place are votes for the winner†(Rosenbaum 2004 ), because by voting for other candidates, they have denied those votes to the second place candidate who could have won had they received them. Following the 2000 U. S. presidential election, some supporters of Democratic candidate Al Gore believed he lost the extremely close election to Republican George W. Bush because a portion of the electorate (2. 7%) voted for Ralph Nader of the Green Party.Exit polls indicated that more of these voters would have preferred Gore (45%) to Bush (27%), with the rest not voting in Nader's absence (Rosenbaum 2004). The people, who voted for Ralph Nader despite of his staggering inability to win, effectively voted for Bush by depriving Gore of their votes even though they would have preferred Gore. With tactical voting, voters, have to predict in advance who the top two candidates will be. This can distort results significantly. One factor that influences tactical voting is the Media. Substantial power is given to the media.Some voters will tend to believe the media's assertions as to who the leading contenders are likely to be in the election. Even voters who distrust the media will know that other voters do believe the media, and therefore that those candidates who receive the most media attention will probably be the most popular and thus most likely to be the top two. The media can also play an important role in persuading voters to use tactical voting. This is exemplified through the use of attack advertisements in television; radio and print media. This happens in the UK. The system may promote votes against as opposed to votes for.In the UK, entire campaigns have been organized with the aim of voting against the Conservative party by voting either Labour or Liberal Democrat. For example, in a constituency held by the Conservatives, with the Liberal Democrats as the second-place party and the Labour Party in third, Labour supporters might be urged to vote for the Liberal Democrat candidate (who has a smaller shortfall o f votes to make up and more support in the constituency) rather than their own candidate, on the basis that Labour supporters would prefer an MP from a competing left/liberal party to a Conservative one (Drogus 2008).The media holds an important role in informing and influencing the public about political candidates. This causes the FPTP system to turn into run-off voting, which is a two round voting system where voters elect two forerunners for the constituency and select one to be winner. The â€Å"first round† of the election is done within the court of public opinion, the â€Å"second round† happens with the official election. This can be seen in the example of the 1997 Winchester by-election: â€Å"Gerry Malone the former Conservative MP who had lost his seat in the general election, was criticized as a â€Å"poor loser† by the media.The Labour Party obtained their worst ever results in a parliamentary election, in part because they hardly campaigned at al l and instead focused their priorities on the by-election in Beckenham held on the same day. It is presumed that most of the Labour supporters decided to vote Liberal Democrat knowing how unlikely they were to win. † (Farrell 1998). The Labour Party voters used their votes tactically because they knew they couldn’t win and were turned off by the Conservative candidates negative image in the press.Another important reason that Canada should select a different election system is that the FPTP system has a large impact on smaller parties. According to Political Scientist Maurice Duverger’s Law, given enough time FPTP systems will eventually become a two party system (Duverger 1972). The FPTP system only gives the winner in each district a seat, a party that consistently comes third in every district will not gain any seats in the legislature, even if it receives a significant proportion of the vote.This puts a heavy strain on parties that are spread geographically t hin, such as the Green party of Canada who received approximately 5% of the popular vote from 2004-2011, but had only won a single riding during that time (Elections Canada). The second problem facing smaller parties in FPTP systems is related to tactical voting. Duverger suggested an election in which 100,000 moderate voters and 80,000 radical voters are voting for a single official.If two moderate parties ran candidates and one radical candidate were to run, the radical candidate would win unless one of the moderate candidates gathered fewer than 20,000 votes. Observing this, moderate voters would be more likely to vote for the candidate most likely to gain more votes, with the goal of defeating the radical candidate. Either the two parties must merge, or one moderate party must fail, as the voters gravitate to the two strong parties, a trend Duverger called polarization (Duverger 1972).Smaller parties will never have a fair amount of representation in proportion to their size. FP TP tends to reduce the number of viable political parties to a greater extent than other methods. This makes it more likely that a single party will hold a majority of legislative seats. Canada has had 33 majority governments out of 41 elections (Parliament of Canada) FPTP's tendency toward fewer parties and more frequent one-party rule can potentially produce a government that may not consider a wide a range of perspectives and concerns.It is entirely possible that a voter will find that both major parties agree on a particular issue. In this case, the voter will not have any meaningful way of expressing a dissenting opinion through their vote. These voters will have to resort to tactical voting and vote for a candidate that they mostly disagree with in order to oppose a candidate they disagree with even more. This is a compromise that the voter should not have to make in order to express them selves politically. The third problem with the FPTP system is that it is especially vulne rable to gerrymandering.Gerrymandering is the process of setting electoral districts in order to establish a political advantage for a particular party or group by manipulating geographic boundaries to create partisan or incumbent-protected districts. The resulting district is known as a gerrymander (Martis 2008). This process is very controversial in Canada and is viewed negatively when attempted. Governments in power to solidify their dominance at the federal and provincial level can use gerrymandering to increase voters in a riding where they do not have as many voters, giving them an unfair advantage upon re-election.The examples of gerrymandering and its effects can be seen in Canada today. The current federal electoral district boundaries in Saskatchewan have been labeled as evidence of gerrymandering, The province's two major cities, Saskatoon and Regina, are both â€Å"cracked† into four districts each, when the populations of the cities proper would justify about thr ee and two and a half of all-urban (or mostly urban) districts respectively; the map instead groups parts of the New Democratic Party-friendly cities with large Conservative-leaning rural areas (Elections Canada)In 2006, a controversy arose on Prince Edward Island over the provincial government's decision to throw out an electoral map drawn by an independent commission. Instead the government created two new maps. The government adopted the second of these, designed by the caucus of the governing party. Opposition parties and the media attacked Premier Pat Binns for what they saw as gerrymandering of districts. Among other things, the government adopted a map that ensured that every current Member of the Legislative Assembly from the premier's party had a district to run in for re-election, whereas in the original map, several had been redistricted.Despite this, in the 2007 provincial election only 7 of 20 incumbent Members of the Legislative Assembly were re-elected and the governm ent was defeated. Pat Binns’ attempt at gerrymandering and loss of the election showed that the Canadian people do not support gerrymandering by politicians (CBC) Even though the FPTP system has many criticisms it does have some qualities that are found attractive. Firstly FPTP systems are generally good at creating majority governments because of their winner take all attitudes.Majority governments are viewed as being more efficient because of their ability to swiftly pass laws through Parliament. However, majority governments increase their efficiency at the price of sacrificing a broader range of political views. Secondly, FPTP is a good way of discouraging extremist parties that seek to bring radical change to the government. This is because larger parties are favored to win seats so unless the party has a very concentrated electoral support the will generally never win any ridings.FPTP has many criticisms and flaws that are easily exploited. These flaws can only be addre ssed by selecting a new electoral system. The FPTP’s key flaw that underlies its criticisms is that it discounts or ignores minority parties and their voters. This effectively causes only voters of the major parties to be able to accurately express them selves politically. In a democracy every vote should count not just the votes cast for the winning party. This is why FPTP is not an adequate system for Canada. The FPTP system fails Canadian voters because it favors tactical voting orcing voters to make unnecessary compromises with their political beliefs. It perpetuates dominance of one or two main parties and discourages growth of newer, smaller parties. FPTP opens up the door for gerrymandering Politicians to take an unfair advantage to solidify their dominance in the government. In conclusion I think that Canada’s First Past the Post parliamentary electoral system should be changed because it favors tactical voting; it has a negative effect on smaller parties; and opens up the possibility of gerrymandering constituencies. Canadas First Past the Post System In Canada Federal and Provincial First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) elections are based on single member districts or ridings. Each riding chooses one candidate to elect into parliament. In order to win a candidate must obtain the highest number of votes but not necessarily the majority of votes. The party that wins the most ridings is named the official government of Canada with the second place party becoming the official opposition. The (FPTP) system is also known as the ‘winner-take-all' system, in which the candidate with the most votes gets elected. FPTP voting methods can be used for single and multiple member elections.In a single member election the candidate with the highest number, not necessarily a majority, of votes is elected. This system is used in Canada, UK, US, and India. Many Canadians are not happy with the current First Past the Post system currently in place for electing parliamentary officials provincially and federally. I think that Canada’s First Past th e Post parliamentary electoral system should be changed because it favors tactical voting; it has a negative effect on smaller parties; and opens up the possibility of gerrymandering constituencies.A new electoral system that is more proportional is needed in order to address these problems. There are a few problems that arise out of the FPTP system. One of the most important problems is the tendency for FPTP to favor tactical voting. Tactical voting happens when voters cast their votes for one of the two candidates that are most likely to win. This is done because it is perceived by the voter that their vote will be wasted if they were to choose to vote for a smaller party, which they would more prefer. This is an understandable feeling by the voter because only votes for the winning candidate actually count (Blais, 2008).The position is sometimes summed up, in an extreme form, as â€Å"All votes for anyone other than the second place are votes for the winner†(Rosenbaum 2004 ), because by voting for other candidates, they have denied those votes to the second place candidate who could have won had they received them. Following the 2000 U. S. presidential election, some supporters of Democratic candidate Al Gore believed he lost the extremely close election to Republican George W. Bush because a portion of the electorate (2. 7%) voted for Ralph Nader of the Green Party.Exit polls indicated that more of these voters would have preferred Gore (45%) to Bush (27%), with the rest not voting in Nader's absence (Rosenbaum 2004). The people, who voted for Ralph Nader despite of his staggering inability to win, effectively voted for Bush by depriving Gore of their votes even though they would have preferred Gore. With tactical voting, voters, have to predict in advance who the top two candidates will be. This can distort results significantly. One factor that influences tactical voting is the Media. Substantial power is given to the media.Some voters will tend to believe the media's assertions as to who the leading contenders are likely to be in the election. Even voters who distrust the media will know that other voters do believe the media, and therefore that those candidates who receive the most media attention will probably be the most popular and thus most likely to be the top two. The media can also play an important role in persuading voters to use tactical voting. This is exemplified through the use of attack advertisements in television; radio and print media. This happens in the UK. The system may promote votes against as opposed to votes for.In the UK, entire campaigns have been organized with the aim of voting against the Conservative party by voting either Labour or Liberal Democrat. For example, in a constituency held by the Conservatives, with the Liberal Democrats as the second-place party and the Labour Party in third, Labour supporters might be urged to vote for the Liberal Democrat candidate (who has a smaller shortfall o f votes to make up and more support in the constituency) rather than their own candidate, on the basis that Labour supporters would prefer an MP from a competing left/liberal party to a Conservative one (Drogus 2008).The media holds an important role in informing and influencing the public about political candidates. This causes the FPTP system to turn into run-off voting, which is a two round voting system where voters elect two forerunners for the constituency and select one to be winner. The â€Å"first round† of the election is done within the court of public opinion, the â€Å"second round† happens with the official election. This can be seen in the example of the 1997 Winchester by-election: â€Å"Gerry Malone the former Conservative MP who had lost his seat in the general election, was criticized as a â€Å"poor loser† by the media.The Labour Party obtained their worst ever results in a parliamentary election, in part because they hardly campaigned at al l and instead focused their priorities on the by-election in Beckenham held on the same day. It is presumed that most of the Labour supporters decided to vote Liberal Democrat knowing how unlikely they were to win. † (Farrell 1998). The Labour Party voters used their votes tactically because they knew they couldn’t win and were turned off by the Conservative candidates negative image in the press.Another important reason that Canada should select a different election system is that the FPTP system has a large impact on smaller parties. According to Political Scientist Maurice Duverger’s Law, given enough time FPTP systems will eventually become a two party system (Duverger 1972). The FPTP system only gives the winner in each district a seat, a party that consistently comes third in every district will not gain any seats in the legislature, even if it receives a significant proportion of the vote.This puts a heavy strain on parties that are spread geographically t hin, such as the Green party of Canada who received approximately 5% of the popular vote from 2004-2011, but had only won a single riding during that time (Elections Canada). The second problem facing smaller parties in FPTP systems is related to tactical voting. Duverger suggested an election in which 100,000 moderate voters and 80,000 radical voters are voting for a single official.If two moderate parties ran candidates and one radical candidate were to run, the radical candidate would win unless one of the moderate candidates gathered fewer than 20,000 votes. Observing this, moderate voters would be more likely to vote for the candidate most likely to gain more votes, with the goal of defeating the radical candidate. Either the two parties must merge, or one moderate party must fail, as the voters gravitate to the two strong parties, a trend Duverger called polarization (Duverger 1972).Smaller parties will never have a fair amount of representation in proportion to their size. FP TP tends to reduce the number of viable political parties to a greater extent than other methods. This makes it more likely that a single party will hold a majority of legislative seats. Canada has had 33 majority governments out of 41 elections (Parliament of Canada) FPTP's tendency toward fewer parties and more frequent one-party rule can potentially produce a government that may not consider a wide a range of perspectives and concerns.It is entirely possible that a voter will find that both major parties agree on a particular issue. In this case, the voter will not have any meaningful way of expressing a dissenting opinion through their vote. These voters will have to resort to tactical voting and vote for a candidate that they mostly disagree with in order to oppose a candidate they disagree with even more. This is a compromise that the voter should not have to make in order to express them selves politically. The third problem with the FPTP system is that it is especially vulne rable to gerrymandering.Gerrymandering is the process of setting electoral districts in order to establish a political advantage for a particular party or group by manipulating geographic boundaries to create partisan or incumbent-protected districts. The resulting district is known as a gerrymander (Martis 2008). This process is very controversial in Canada and is viewed negatively when attempted. Governments in power to solidify their dominance at the federal and provincial level can use gerrymandering to increase voters in a riding where they do not have as many voters, giving them an unfair advantage upon re-election.The examples of gerrymandering and its effects can be seen in Canada today. The current federal electoral district boundaries in Saskatchewan have been labeled as evidence of gerrymandering, The province's two major cities, Saskatoon and Regina, are both â€Å"cracked† into four districts each, when the populations of the cities proper would justify about thr ee and two and a half of all-urban (or mostly urban) districts respectively; the map instead groups parts of the New Democratic Party-friendly cities with large Conservative-leaning rural areas (Elections Canada)In 2006, a controversy arose on Prince Edward Island over the provincial government's decision to throw out an electoral map drawn by an independent commission. Instead the government created two new maps. The government adopted the second of these, designed by the caucus of the governing party. Opposition parties and the media attacked Premier Pat Binns for what they saw as gerrymandering of districts. Among other things, the government adopted a map that ensured that every current Member of the Legislative Assembly from the premier's party had a district to run in for re-election, whereas in the original map, several had been redistricted.Despite this, in the 2007 provincial election only 7 of 20 incumbent Members of the Legislative Assembly were re-elected and the governm ent was defeated. Pat Binns’ attempt at gerrymandering and loss of the election showed that the Canadian people do not support gerrymandering by politicians (CBC) Even though the FPTP system has many criticisms it does have some qualities that are found attractive. Firstly FPTP systems are generally good at creating majority governments because of their winner take all attitudes.Majority governments are viewed as being more efficient because of their ability to swiftly pass laws through Parliament. However, majority governments increase their efficiency at the price of sacrificing a broader range of political views. Secondly, FPTP is a good way of discouraging extremist parties that seek to bring radical change to the government. This is because larger parties are favored to win seats so unless the party has a very concentrated electoral support the will generally never win any ridings.FPTP has many criticisms and flaws that are easily exploited. These flaws can only be addre ssed by selecting a new electoral system. The FPTP’s key flaw that underlies its criticisms is that it discounts or ignores minority parties and their voters. This effectively causes only voters of the major parties to be able to accurately express them selves politically. In a democracy every vote should count not just the votes cast for the winning party. This is why FPTP is not an adequate system for Canada. The FPTP system fails Canadian voters because it favors tactical voting orcing voters to make unnecessary compromises with their political beliefs. It perpetuates dominance of one or two main parties and discourages growth of newer, smaller parties. FPTP opens up the door for gerrymandering Politicians to take an unfair advantage to solidify their dominance in the government. In conclusion I think that Canada’s First Past the Post parliamentary electoral system should be changed because it favors tactical voting; it has a negative effect on smaller parties; and opens up the possibility of gerrymandering constituencies.