Thins Fall Apart Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Thins Fall Apart - Essay Example The level of detachment achieved by the author in describing the life before colonialism is commendable. The theme of the book and the author’s attitude towards the theme both evoke curiosity. Without giving too much room for sentimentalism, he details the state of affairs in the country, and is not interested in creating a rosy picture out of love for his country. He states the facts, and describes the shortcomings of his people, mentions about fierce tribal wars, day to day violence and the resultant suffering. He also mentions that the uniting factor amongst the people is social coherence, deep-rooted faith in ritualism and extraordinary traditions, the importance of which is difficult to quantify but highly respected and followed by the people. What is the importance of the customs and traditions of Igbo society and how they are reflected in the day to day life and dispositions of the Nigerian tribal community? The importance of various segments of culture has a deep impac t on the Nigerian society and their inner world responds to its richness and beauty. Referring to the role of music Chinua Achebe(1994, p.4) writes, â€Å"The total effect was gay and brisk, but if one picked out the flute as it went up and down and then broke up into short snatches, one saw that there was sorrow and grief there.†Through this observation, the author states in his own style and reveal about the societal conditions and its impact on the common man, meaningfully. How the traditional families functioned—study Okonkwo’s life for example! He was a self-made man, but he was unhappy affected much by the poor image his father had in the Igbo society. He tried to overcome that inferiority complex with great efforts, achieved matchless prosperity, and enjoyed great reputation in the village. His physical assets added to his popularity and the awe and esteem in which the people held him. About his physical prowess the author( p.3) writes, â€Å"â€Å"It w as this man Okonkwo threw in a fight which the old men agreed was one of the fiercest since the founder of their town engaged a spirit of the wild for seven days and seven nights.† His anger seized his personality and he lost control over his normal speech and donned a violent mood. The role of the superstitions in the life of people touched great heights. Whether the personal traits dominated the superstitions, or the superstitions contributed to the formation of the personal traits was a difficult question to answer. Both co-existed and exerted mutual influence. As for Okonkwo, it was rooted in his ancestry. The author observes that he suffered from a sort of inferiority complex, about resemblance to his father, which he thought was a sign of backwardness. Each section of the society, men women and children had some superstition or the other to hang on, and their origin was difficult to trace. The basis of their continuance was faith, with no convincing logical explanations. The author cites one such example, amongst the womenfolk. Worshipping the trees was common with them and they believed that the tree was the abode of good children waiting to be born and they sat under the shades of the trees. Colonialism impacted the cultural traditions of Igbo tribe in a big way and it was a well-planned

Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 36

Leadership - Essay Example The video, How to Win Power and Influence People features Jeffrey Pfeffer giving loads of wise words on how managers can wield power over their staff and increase production and profitability of their organizations. Jeffrey’s pronouncement that power is the most precious resource for a manager is indeed a new viewpoint to those who believe in democratic management. A close overview of these videos together with an Interview with David Ulrich gives guidelines that can transform operations of many organizations. As Garry points out, innovation, resilience, inspiration and accountability are core principles that every manager determined to succeed must possess. A manager capable of exercising profound expertise and emotional commitment will certainly make a landmark impact on an organization. Coupling these abilities with a rare capacity to win people’s affection and favor makes such a manager an idol and a treasure to the company he runs. As a manager in a Convenience Store, putting all these cherished secrets of success into practice will tremendously improve operations of my department. With the power to influence the staff under me I will have a sizeable staff that is enthusiastic to carry out errands in the store without grumbling. Being an emotionally attached manager to the operations of the store will not only make me an efficient manager, but will encourage and motivate the junior staff to perform to the same standards of

Retail Sales and Personal Income Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Retail Sales and Personal Income - Essay Example Personal income does not usually rise fast enough to absorb increases in interest rates. This is more likely to be an issue for people whose budgets are already stretched, since people with lower credit scores or worse ratios of income to expense are more likely to have to resort to variable rate loans in order to qualify for the credit they want, and these are the very loan payments which will rise with interest rates, forcing these consumers to make compensatory budget adjustments.  The U.S. retail sales forecast from the National Retail Federation for calendar 2006 is 4.7% (NRF Forecasts 4.7% Growth for 2006 Retail Sales, 2006), more bullish than the Bloomsberg survey forecast of 3.4% for the same period (Leading U.S. Indicators Index Points to Slower Growth, 2006). Both forecasts exclude automobile sales, which has contributed to much of the recent volatility of the consumer spending and retail sales figures on a quarterly basis. The NRF press release acknowledges that pressure s facing consumers include rising interest rates and diminishing sources of â€Å"spending power,† by which they mean that as the housing market cools, home equity will not be able to sustain as much spending as it did in the past.For 2005, the NRF forecast for retail sales was 5.6%, while the actual retail sales growth for 2005 was 6.1% (NRF Forecasts 4.7% Growth for 2006 Retail Sales, 2006).   Bloomberg’s consensus forecast for the second half of 2005 was 6.9% (U.S. Economy Expanded at a 4.1% Annual Pace in Third Quarter.

Ethical Judgments Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Ethical Judgments - Assignment Example 42). A well-trained conscience stands a better chance in making upright decisions than one inadequately trained. Looking at the natural and social factors determining the shaping of an individuals conscience, one brought up in an apathetic society and under an environment perverted of what is right is most likely to participate in unethical actions. There also are extremists who look for the slightest loop in any decision made, these are likely to see wrong in any actions taken (Ruggerio, 2008). The conscience stands as the best guide an individual has to distinguish between right and wrong (Ruggerio, 2008, pg. 39). Not to be forgotten is importance on the need of time and intelligence is needed when making a decision. Shifting attention to the inquiries and viewing them from the ethical standpoint of the actions is vital in showing ethical and unethical decisions. Looking at the scene of the cosmetologist in a local beauty salon is exceptional in determining right and wrong. 1) A cosmetologist takes pride in his love of making his clients feel great about themselves in their features and looks. He does this while recommending the use of the products he has in store despite the fact that they are not as effective as publicized to be. His emphasize is on clients attractiveness as what all his clients should have. 5) The cosmetologists makes the clients build confidence in the products he has for sale in order to receive high sales and thus high returns despite the fact that the products are not as effective as they are claimed to be. This is treacherous 7) Thus, it is unethical for a cosmetologist to use the clients in order to make high sales while selling them nonperforming products. Retaining a high reputation out of giving false complements to clients is unethical as it denies the clients a chance to seek what is

Financial Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Financial Management - Essay Example The companys fortunes have improved since the launch of a recovery programme by CEO Justin King in 2004. It is apparently closing in on ASDA with its improving market share of 16.22 per cent (ASDA:16.6 per cent). One of the three leading distributors of consumer goods in the UK, the Sainsbury group runs 350 supermarkets and 300 shops branded Sainsburys Local and Bells Stores, offering a range of articles from food to health care products, of which under half are sold under the companys own brand. The company also owns real estate and a bank, Sainsburys Bank, which offers such services as loans, insurance, fund management, and credit cards. It is headquartered in London, England. This paper shall discuss the financial management policies of Sainsbury PLC with regard to three aspects of its operations: Capital Asset Pricing Model, the Weighted Average Cost of Capital, and Dividend Policy. In order to apply the Capital Asset Pricing Model, it is necessary to find a method to estimate the future beta, a component of a security’s risk which cannot be eliminated through diversification, which can applied in estimation of future returns. The least squares regression can be used to develop a linear equation to explain the relationship between return on the stock and return on the market. The characteristic line is usually used to describe the relationship between the rate of return of a market portfolio and the rate of return of a security. It is derived by using regression analysis that summarizes a particular security or portfolios systematic risk and rate of return. The rate of return is dependent on the standard deviation of the assets returns and the slope of the characteristic line, which is represented by the assets beta. A characteristic line of a stock is the same as the security market line. The slope of the line, which is a measure of systematic risk, determines the risk-return trade-off. According to this metric, the more risk you take on -

Photosynthesis Lab Report Essay Example for Free

Photosynthesis Lab Report Essay An experiment to investigate the effects of carbonate concentration in water on the rate of photosynthesis. Aim: The aim is to investigate how increasing carbonate in water can affect the rate of photosynthesis. Introduction: The rate of photosynthesis can be increased or decreased in many different ways. For example, by adding substances like alkaline or salt to the water, you can increase or decrease the acidity or basics, if the water has too much acidity, it can often delay the rate of photosynthesis, often stopping the rate of photosynthesis in the plant, which will possibly lead to killing the plant. Another option is to control the strength of the light by controlling the distance of the light from the plant. If the light is a far distance from the plant, the strength of light for the plant would be very weak, therefore decreasing the rate of photosynthesis. Another alternate but simple way is to change the colored light by comparing different colored ï ¬ lters and their effects to change the rate of photosynthesis. Some colors like red and blue increase the rate of photosynthesis, while colors like yellow and green decrease the rate of photosynthesis. Many people would choose the factors that have just been listed, however there are so many other interesting possible factors when investigating other ways in which you can affect the rate of photosynthesis, Therefor, for this experiment the independent variable chosen is the amount of carbonate in water. Hypothesis: Carbonate is known to increase the rate of photosynthesis when mixed with water, this is because plants inhale carbon dioxide which is what carbonate is made from along with other bases. By diluting carbonate in the water, this increases the amount of carbon dioxide in the water, which then increases the rate of photosynthesis, technically increasing the amount of bubbles within the experiment. However, too much carbonate might slow down the rate of photosynthesis within the plant. This is because, if too much carbonate is added within a small concentration of water with only one small plant, the amount of carbon dioxide released might be too overwhelming for one plant to handle, increasing the rate of photosynthesis to such a high extent can eventually make the plant loose itÊ ¼s energy to photosynthesize. Apparatus/Materials †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Science apron Large Beaker (1000mls) Tap water Long wooden ruler(preferably 30cm) Scissors 12cm of  fresh Elodea plant Large lamp- 60wat bulb Carbonate powder Mettle spoon/spatula Skewer Scale Paper stop watch book or laptop to collect data Method 1. Find a clean, safe and flat working space to do your experiment, leave your workbook or laptop used to collect data on your working space 2. Put on a safety lab apron or coat 3. Grab all the equipment thats on the equipment list and place it on your working space 4. Take a large beaker(1000mls) and carefully fill it with 500mls of tap water 5. Place the large beaker on your working space, bend down at eye level in line with the water and check that the bottom of the waters meniscus curve is touching the ‘500mls’ point 6. If there is too much water, pour out some of the water into the sink, repeatedly doing step 3 to check if the measurement is correct 7. Turn on your lamp and make sure the bulb is 60 wats 8. Take your ruler and make sure the length distance between the lamp and the beaker is 1 cm, and make sure the height distance between the bulb and the beaker is 0 cm 9. Take the Long wooden ruler (preferably 30cm) and some scissors to measure and cut 12cm of fresh Elodea plant 10. Turn on the lamp 11. Get ready your stop watch and your source used to collect data 12. Drop the 12 cm Elodea plant into the water 13. Quickly start the timer when you see the first bubble and record it in your data table for ‘Trail 1’ 14. When watching the plant, watch it from birds eye view(above the beaker) so that you can see the whole plant 15. Let the stop watch run for three minutes(1 minute for each trial) and record how many bubbles there are for each trial for each trial. 16. After finishing the three trials, if the plant floats to the top, push the plant down with a skewer 17. For the next test, rip a section of paper thats about the size of your palm, place it on the scale 18. Turn on the scale 19. Take a spatula and the tub of carbonate powder and spoon some carbonate onto the paper that is sitting on the scale. 20. Keep on adding and taking away till you get 0.5 grams 21. Take the paper with the 0.5 grams of carbonate and pour it inside the water 22. Quickly stir the carbonate with a spatula so that it is fully dissolved into the water equally 23. Start the timer when your done stirring and repeat from step 14 to step 22 24. Once the data is finished collecting, add up the data for the 3 trials  for the first test, divide the sum by 3 to get your average. Do this for a the rest of your tests till you get 5 averages for each of the 5 tests 25. Make a table on ‘Exle’, write test 1, 2 and so on in each cel and the amount of carbonate, then write the averages for each of the tests under 26. Highlight all of this then click whatever graph you think would be best Fair Testing Variables Independent variable Variable details Variables you will change Description †¢ The Mass of carbonate powder increases by 0.5grams within each test †¢ To Count the amount of bubbles released within each trial †¢ Time frame for each trial 60sec †¢ Distance in length and height between the lamp and the beaker is 0cm in height and 1cm in length. †¢ Bulbs wattage-60wats †¢ Mass of water in the beaker for every test is 500mls

Determination of Glucose Concentration Using Trinder Method

Determination of Glucose Concentration Using Trinder Method The Trinder method is used to determine glucose concentration only, (Lott et al, 1975). This method was first described by Trinder in 1969 thus named after him, (Lott et al, 1975). It uses an enzyme glucose oxidase for the first reaction and peroxidase for the second reaction thus the name of the enzyme Glucose oxidase/peroxidase (GODPOD), (Meiattin, 1973). Enzymes are biological or any chemical catalysts that speed up a reaction without it being used up, (Jan, 2010). It functions to catalyse a reaction by lowering the activation energy of the reaction. Activation energy is the energy needed to initiate the reaction. It is a point of high energy and requires more energy than the substrates. An enzyme also contains an active site for the substrate to catalyse the reaction. Its efficiency depends on the concentration of the substrate and conditions like temperature or pH, (Hames et al, 2005). The Trinder method, is based on two sequential enzymatic reactions, the first one involves the oxidation of glucose to gluconic acid and H2O2, (Casabnon et al, 2005). This reaction is catalysed by the enzyme Glucose oxidase. Then, the H2O2produced is quantified by a chromogenic reaction with peroxidase (POD), as the enzyme that catalyses the reaction with the reduced dye, (Casabnon et al, 2005). The oxidised dye changes colour to pink or red according to the glucose concentration. The colour formed is stable at room temperature for at least two hours after development, (Anon, 2010). The main advantage of this method is that it is very specific. It doesnt target other sugars except glucose. It is also simple straight forward and easy to manipulate. Its results are very reliable and specific, (Bauninger, 1974). Its final products are stable as they are not reactive at room temperature. Other colorimetric methods to identify glucose include, oxidation of glucose in the presence of Cu+2 to give Cu2O, and different types of Chromatography, (Casabnon et al, 2005). Glucose can be detected with o-toledine or other amines, (Casabnon et al, 2005). The experiment had to check for the specificity of the assay thus other carbohydrates were assayed. These were galactose, fructose, maltose and ribose. Maltose is a disaccharide which is made up of two glucose molecules joined together by a glycosidic bond. Galactose is a major sugar found in milk, (Hames et al, 2005). Its structure consists of six carbons with a glycosidic bond to join the next glucose molecule, (Berg et al, 2007). Fructose is abundant in fruits. It is a monosaccharide with six carbons as its structure. Ribose is a pentose sugar molecule with 5 carbons. It is mostly abundant in the nucleotides. The aim of the experiment was to determine glucose concentration in different concentrated solutions and unknown solutions. The specificity of the assay was to be determined by application of the assay on different sugar molecules. A standard curve was to be drawn from the absorbencies acquired from the spectrophotometer at 515nm Materials 12 Test tubes 2 Long pipette tips 1ml of 0.5mM Fructose 1ml of 0.5mM Maltose 1ml of 0.5mM Galactose 1ml of Unknown Glucose 1ml of 0.5mM Ribose 5ml of 0, 5mM Glucose 5ml of Distilled water 7ml of 0.1% Phenol 20ml of GODPOD Reagent 9 pipette tips 8 Disposable Cuvettes Black Marker Stop watch P100 Pipette Automatic pipette Recoding paper and pen Spectrophotometer at 515nm Water bath at 37oC Test tubes rack Blotting paper Method The test tubes were marked T1 to T6, for those that had to be inoculated with glucose and S1 to S6, for those that had to be inoculated with different types of sugars. They were arranged in order of concentration on the rack. One row was left out for agitating the test tubes. Inoculation commenced by transferring glucose into different test tubes T1being the least concentrated. 0.5mM of Glucose was transferred using a P100 pipette and not changing the tip. 0.2cm3 was inoculated into T2, 0.4 cm3 into T3, 0.6 cm3 into T4, 0.8cm3 into T5 and 1.0 cm3into T6. Distilled water was then inoculated into the test tubes using a different tip to avoid cross contamination. One centimetre cubed was inoculated into T1, 0.8 cm3 into T2, 0.6 cm3 into T3, 0.4 cm3 into T4 and 0.2 cm3 into T5. There was no water inoculated into the last tube T6. Phenol was then inoculated into all the twelve test tubes. It was transferred using a different tip to avoid cross contamination. One centimetre cubed of different sugars were inoculated in specific S tubes. 0.5mM of Galactose was inoculated into S1, 0.5mM of Glucose was inoculated into S2, Glucose unknown was inoculated into S3, 0.5mM of Fructose was inoculated into S4, 0.5mM of Maltose was inoculated into S5 and then 0.5mM of Ribose was inoculated into S6. These transfers were done with different tips for different sugars. One and half millilitres of GODPOD reagent was then inoculated into all the test tubes using an automatic pipette and a long pipette tip. The test tubes were then agitated on the rack and incubated in the water bath for forty minutes. The temperature was constantly checked during incubation. After forty minutes, the solutions changed colour from colourless to light pink according to the concentration. These different solutions were then read on a spectrophotometer in a cuvette. The spectrophotometer was zeroed at first then absorbencies of Glucose and other sugars were read and recorded. A cuvette was wiped on the soft side to minimize absorbencies caused by contamination. These different absorbencies were recorded on a table. Discussion The reactions of glucose with the GODPOD were slow due to the fact that the enzyme was stored in ice thus it took long for the reaction to take place. The enzymes structure was disrupted because it was kept in cold thus it took time to equilibrate with the conditions. The reason why GODPOD was slow to react was because it is sensitive to its environment, (Teal et al, 1985). Enzymes are sensitive to pressure, temperature and pH. This added to the fact that the colour produced was not very dark because the enzyme was adjusting to the conditions. The enzyme also didnt denature because it was kept in ice at 4oC not in the heat above 40oC. On the graph, the points that are not on the line of best fit might have appeared because there might have been a competitive inhibitor thus the reaction didnt go on well owing to reduced absorbance. The inhibitor might have been so because of cross contamination. The same pipette might have been used to transfer the solutions thus cross contamination. The specificity of the enzymes might have caused the other solutions not to produce reliable results. Enzymes are sensitive to pH, (Jan, 2010). The pH of the test tube might have been so low or higher than the required thus some of the points are not in the line of best fit. This might have been avoided by carrying out the experiment repeatedly and then getting average values. When the enzyme was applied to the other sugars, there was no absorbance at all because the enzyme is specific to one substrate thus it didnt catalyse the reaction of other sugars and GODPOD. There might have no absorbance because these sugars might have their own wavelengths they absorb the light. This might have been avoided by scanning the various wavelengths and determine the exact wavelength. The unknown glucoses were determined by the use of the graph. The line of best fit was used to determine the glucose concentration. An equation was used also to determine the concentrations. The other points not on the line of the best fit might be there because the transitional state might have been great, thus when thirty minutes had passed, the enzyme had not gone past the transitional stage. This might have been characteristic of the colours produced according to the concentration of the different solutions. The unknown glucose solutions showed to have the same concentration as the stock solution. It might have the same compounds and properties as the stock solution. The results of the experiment were according to the literature values. This was highlighted by the absorbencies of stock solutions and different sugars. The specificity of the reaction was achieved. In conclusion, the aims of the experiment were achieved by obtain reliable data and results. The standard curve showed the absorbencies of the different solutions and unknowns.