Final Project Milestone Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Final Project Milestone - Essay Example This book also deals with radicalism revolving round and throbbing on a platform of religion. The book â€Å"Milestone† also focuses on issue concerned with politics yet religion cannot be completely separated from the topical discussion within the context of the book. The issues of politics and religion operating hand in hand is a very commonplace idea but the representation of this serious issue in an unique style because the execution in 1964 for the cause of a movement and establishing a moral, social order and attainment of justice, Qutb gave his life. A document written just few years before his death bears some strong arguments which are innovative and novice at any level and therefore, the book indeed is a milestone in the cannon of political books. Like the name of the book, it bears quite a few epoch making doctrines pertaining to Islamic radicalism and its effect and implementation in the western countries, which made it very much true to its name. Whether with the translated name of â€Å"Milestone† or often known with the name of Signposts, the book is unique in its style, content and representation. The book is a burning document on the issues like racial equality and

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time Essay Example for Free

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time Essay In the novel the curious incident of the dog in the night time Mark Hadden demonstrates the qualities of hardships and problems which every key character in the novel has to deal with. Some are stronger or harder than others but in the end they still have to jump that hurdle they are trying to get over. Every character does find a way to manage their problems and deal with them sensibly. But I respect Mr Boone the most because he deals with two lots of troubles, his own and his son Christopher’s. Mr. Boone deals with a substantial amount of problems throughout the novel. Not only his personal problems but dealing with Christopher as a son, and for filling his needs. He learns to manage and structure his life with the problems he has surrounding him. At the begging of the book Ed Boone’s character portrays a strong personality that can stand up to his problems. Christopher gives him nuisance with him not being able to understand the emotions that a person can go through. This leaves Mr Boone on his own when things get emotional, he can’t hug his son or give any affection. Mr Boone and Christopher send love to each other by touching fingertips together: We do this because sometimes father wants to give me a hug but I do not like hugging people, so we do this instead, and it means that he loves me . Mr Boone faces his wife leaving him for another man. He hides this to the one he loves the most, his son. As the author depicts in the book, Christopher has a few problems comprehending emotions, this is why Mr Boone hides Christopher’s mother leaving the family. Not only does he have trouble dealing with the fact his wife left him but he has to carry the guilt of keeping this big secret from Christopher. Mother had not had a heart attack. Mother had not died. Mother had been alive all the time. And father had lied to me about this. Pg 141 Mrs. Boone initially runs away from all of her troubles but as she comes to a reality of what she has done she tries her best to fix and overcome every hardship she escaped from. Mrs Boone has various problems to deal with throughout the novel. The first hurdle she has to jump over is having Christopher as a son and trying to cater his needs. She finds all of this too hard and decides to escape and have an affair with Mr Shears. The prime emotion she overcomes is guilt. Guilt plays a massive role in her life after she leaves Christopher with his father and whether she would hurt him. I was not a very good mother Christopher . This section of the book is really demonstrating the guilt and pressure she felt leaving Christopher. Guilt also comes up when she leaves her husband for another man. She never intentioned to hurt anyone all she wanted was the best for Christopher That was when I realised you and your father were probably better off if I wasn’t living in the house. Mrs Boone was doing the best for the boy she loved the most, her son. Christopher has to deal with the problem of not being able to comprehend others emotions. This affects Christopher in every aspect of life because it makes it hard for him to commutate with strangers or new people. This makes it difficult for him to make a strong friendship with someone. He does not understand imaginary feelings; he is blunt and cuts straight to facts. There were tears coming out of his eyes. This shows that Christopher see’s the physical side of things but can’t go into someone’s shoes and feel what they are going through. As Christopher and Mr Boone have a strong relationship at the start of the book, Mr Boone tells lies about Christopher’s mother’s departure from the family. Christopher fells betrayed and alone after he finds out his father had lied to him the whole time about his mother leaving. All of a sudden Christopher has to deal with the feeling of being alone after he cannot trust his father. Mr Boone tries to convince Christopher to trust him again: I want you to know you can trust me . But Christopher found it hard to gain trust back with his father. Throughout the book all of the characters discover their weaknesses and strengths. But they all have problems they have to go through. All though they all have their problems I admire Mr Boone the most because unlike the other characters he has two types of problems to deal with. His own problems and dealing with his son’s difficulties; with the condition of Aspergers Syndrome. All of the key characters deal with their issues and can go through hard time in the novel but they all discover strategies on how to overcome their hardships. Mr Boone deals with the greatest amount of problems and I admire all of the characters for facing their problems and conquering their issues.

Controlled Release Fertilizers And Nanotechnology Traces

Controlled Release Fertilizers And Nanotechnology Traces One of the most significant problems of crop fertilization by ordinary fertilizers is nutrient loss to environment which causes lots of environmental and human health problems besides decreasing the efficiency of crop nitrification. As a solution, controlled or slow release fertilizers have been developed to overcome drawbacks of traditional fertilizers. In this review common types of CRFs and some related concepts. Also, focusing on polymer coated CRFs, different preparation and different coating application methods will be studied. In addition, some features of nanotechnology and nano-materials in preparation of controlled release fertilizers in previous works will be reviewed. Introduction In general, plants must be supplied with nutrients during the whole vegetation period. In horticulture this is achieved by applying quickly soluble fertilizer once to twice a week, for example. This kind of fertilizer application is very labour-intensive and requires considerable specialist knowledge, so as to select the correct rate of application, appropriate time of application and correct composition for the particular plants to ensure optimum plant production. With the use of slow or controlled release fertilizers the full amount of nutrients necessary for the whole vegetation period can be applied at the time of planting or at the earliest stages of plant growth, in the form of a nutrient pool Also, about half of the applied fertilizers, depending on the method of application and soil condition, is lost to the environment, which results in the contamination of water [1].This kind of environmental concerns of feeding crops with traditional fertilizers has led to developing Slow Release Fertilizers (SRFs) or Controlled Release Fertilizers (CRFs). SRFs or CRFs are easy and safe to use. They reduce risk of incorrect fertilizer application. Also, they are labour saving and minimize nutrient losses by leaching or fixation. The idea of producing SRFs was developed since 1963 by encapsulation of fertilizers by waxes. After that, these products have been commercialized. There are lots of SRF and CRF brands. Some of these products are Scotts Professional with key brands such as Osmocote, Sierrablen and Osmoform. Aglukon and SunGro Company are also producing controlled release fertilizers. Like lots of scientific fields, agriculture industry has been over shadowed by nanotechnology. Applications of nanotechnology in agriculture includes agriculture crop improvement, nano-biotechnology analysis of gene expression and regulation soil management, plant disease diagnostics, efficient pesticides and fertilizers, water management, bioprocessing, post harvest technology, monitoring the identity and quality of agricultural produce and precision agriculture. Efficient pesticides and fertilizers are recently being developed in terms of nano-composite based slow or controlled release fertilizers.Using nanoparticles as reinforcing or cementing agent of polymer coatings and also as reservoir of fertilizers are features of nanoparticles which have been used in preparing slow release fertilizers [2-4]. Fertilizers Fertilizers are applied to soil to promote plant growth. They contain some beneficial nutrients including macronutrients and micronutrients. Macronutrients are nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium which are added to soil in quantities from 0.2% to 4.0% (on a dry matter weight basis) and are more essential than micronutrients. Micronutrients are elements which are applied to soil in much smaller amounts, ranging from 5 to 200 ppm, or less than 0.02% dry weigh. These elements could be boron (B), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), molybdenum (Mo), zinc (Zn)[5]. 2.2. Types of fertilizers Fertilizers would be categorized from source of production and also from release properties points of view. All fertilizers could be organic or synthetic from production source point of view. Organic fertilizers are naturally produced including seaweed, worm casting, manure, slurry, peat, humic acid, guano and brassin. They provide slow release of nutrient as they need soils bacteria to be broken down to needed elements. Also, they may improve the biodiversity of soil by supplying organic matters and micronutrients for organisms. Organic fertilizers are cheaper and safer than synthetic fertilizers. The main synthetic or mineral fertilizers which are the sources of nitrogen (N), potassium(K), phosphate (P) are urea, ammonium sulfate, ammonium phosphate, phosphate rock, potassium chloride, super phosphates, calcium ammonium nitrate, potassium sulfate. Fertilizers could be in compound form (NP, PK, NPK).The most important drawback of synthetic fertilizer is their long term sustainability. Also, they are more expensive in contrast to organic fertilizers [5]. In addition, fertilizers can be categorized into ordinary and controlled release fertilizers from release properties points of view. Drawbacks of non-controlled release fertilizers Ordinary fertilizers leach to soil very quickly and most of them are not used by the plants. According to figures about 40-70% of nitrogen, 80-90% of phosphorous, and 50-70% of the applied normal fertilizer is lost to environment and cannot be used by plants [6]. This rapid leaching will cause burning of plants and growing in spurts. Also, the lost elements will cause some serious problems for environment. Eutrophication, blue baby syndrome, soil acidification, persistent organic pollutants, heavy metal accumulation, atmospheric effects are environmental concerns of ordinary fertilizers. Another result of quick leaching of fertilizer is repeating the application of fertilizers which will increase the cost [5]. Slow or controlled release fertilizers Slow release fertilizers or controlled release fertilizers are granules coated in a substance that reduce the releasing time of nutrients and eliminates need for constant fertilization and higher efficiency rate than soluble fertilizers [7]. Some of advantages of controlled release fertilizers are long availability of nutrients during growing-season, reduced loss of nutrients through leaching, reduced cost and labor outlay, better storage and handling of fertilizer, reduced immobilization reactions in soil, reduction of nitrification reaction and nitrogen loss through ammonia volatilization and denitrification, elimination of seed damage because of high concentration of salts, elimination of leaf burning from high rates of applied fertilizers, better seasonal growth distribution and better acclimatization in home or display environment [8]. Differences between slow and controlled release fertilizers Although there is not special difference between general function of CRF and the one for SRF, but it should be mentioned that they are manufactured by different materials and techniques with different properties. In slow release fertilizers elements are present in fertilizers in a chemical form, which is not available to plants and they will be converted by physiochemical effects or microorganisms activities into nutrient forms in the soil. But in controlled release fertilizers elements are packed in coated granules and are released through the coating over a certain period of time. Also, in SRFs nutrients available period is affected by a lot of factors such as water content of soil, pH, temperature, microorganisms activity and aeration. However, the longevity of CRF depends mostly on coating thickness and temperature of soil. Only coating method is effective in changing pattern of nutrients release and a fixed coating thickness control nutrients release. In CRFs declared release ti me refers to soil temperature of 20-21oC. Higher temperatures accelerate the element release and lower temperatures make it longer [9]. SRFs are fertilizers with a chemical structure which are inherently slow released. Some kinds of SRFs are Urea Aldehydes (UA) and Chelated Micronutrients (CM). Common type of UAs is urea formaldehyde which is high nitrogen fertilizer. Starting release rate of UAs is high but it dies off slowly for 3 years. This kind of fertilizer depends on microorganisms to break it down for plant use. CMs are substances that hold firmly together iron, manganese, zinc, and copper. They slowly releases over a long period of time [8]. 2.4.2. Types of CRFs 2.4.2.1. Sulfur Coated (SC) When elemental sulfur is oxidized to its sulfate form, the product would be one of the nutrients which is essential for some plants and is normally blended with other fertilizers. Using sulfur coating is also another way to provide sulfur while making slow release properties for a core granular fertilizer. As the sulfur containing materials like polysulfides or lingosulfonate are brittle and also give a low wetting of defects, they are normally mixed with waxes or plasticizers. Many formulas are available for SCs. Their release time is generally 3-4 months and the nutrient is released from SCs by microorganisms activity [10-14]. 2.4.2.2. Wax coated (WC) One of the methods of reducing fertilizer release rate is dispersing granular fertilizers with molten wax and then cooling the mixture below the melting point of the wax [15]. Paraffin is one of the most used waxes as a coating for fertilizers. Paraffin  wax   is a white, tasteless, odorless solid, with a typical melting point between about 47  °C and 64  °[16]. Other types of waxes are synthetic oil based, petroleum or mineral waxes. Waxes are normally used by an additive or a tackifier to make good sealing properties [17,18] 2.4.2.3. Polymer Coated (PC) Polymer-coated fertilizers (PCF) represent the most technically advanced controlled released fertilizers. They include a water-soluble fertilizer core and one or more than one layers of polymer. There are large varieties of polymers to coat the core fertilizer also the coatings layer could be the same one or different. In PC fertilizers release of nutrients will happen by diffusion through a semi permeable polymer membrane. Water penetrates the coating and dissolves the core. Release rate can be controlled by varying the composition and thickness of the coating. In addition, pressure builds up can cause cracks to form, from which fertilizer passes into the soil [8]. 2.5. Review of different types of polymer coated CRFs 2.5.1. Sole Polymer coated CRFs One type of polymer coated CRFs is the one that the fertilizer core which could be N, P, K or compound fertilizer, is just coated with one or more than one layer of polymer coating. In this case the polymer could be solvent based or water-based. The application process starts with dissolving the polymer in an organic solvent or water. After dissolving, the coating will be sprayed onto the fertilizer in a coating drum or fluid bed [19]. Polymer coated fertilizers have some. One of them is that uniform and defect free coating will surround fertilize. The other is that the coating will be very tough and durable which is resistant against mechanical breakdown. Also, polymer coatings are biologically inactive so they will not breakdown by soil microbes. In most cases except for degradable polymers release of fertilizers will occur by diffusion through the polymer coat rather than through defects. In some other coated fertilizers like sulfur coatings there should be a flaw in coating to cause releasing of fertilizer. There are lots of examples for polymers which have been used in the literatures as coating for fertilizers. Some of them include dicyclopentadien [20], urea and urethane based [21-26], epoxy based [27-29], polyvinylidene chloride-based latex [19] carboxyl-carrying ethylene polymers [30], biodegradable starch based [31], urea formaldehyde [32]. However, polymer coated fertilizers have some week points. About solvent-based coatings using large amount of organic solvents like toluene or xylene will lead to environmental concerns. These solvents are volatile and releasing them to environment makes some hazards for human health. Also, polymer coatings are more expensive than sulfur coatings because not only polymer materials are more expensive but also process and equipments which are used for production of polymer coated fertilizers are also more complex than equipments used for other coatings. 2.5.2. Sulfur-polymer coated CRFs One of most common coated fertilizers are the ones in which core fertilizer is covered by a layer of sulfur coating and a layer of polymer. Polymer layer can be the primer or outer layer. It means that sulfur layer in some researches has been the first layer and in some others the outer layer. Using polymers as coating is suggested method to remove drawbacks of sulfur coated CRFs. One of these drawbacks is very fast release of sulfur coated fertilizer in first few days after application. The other one is brittleness of sulfur coatings which may lead to some fractures during handling or storage and losing the fertilizer. Another problem is that sulfur coatings have a high surface tension with water and cannot provide enough wetting for a good diffusion [11, 13, 19, 28]. The most common method for applying the sulfur coating is by spraying. Molten sulfur compound will be sprayed over a pre-polymer coated fertilizer granule [28,33]. 2.5.3. Wax-polymer coated CRFs There are lots of researches focusing on making controlled release fertilizers using wax-polymer coatings. A wax layer has three major benefits. One is that they are applied over the polymer layer for decreasing the fracture probability of coating and the other one is for decreasing the amount of polymer and avoiding consuming lots of polymers to make the process cost effective. Also, they can eliminate imperfection of granules surface to make a good surface coating. Most common waxes which have been used in state of the art are C30 alpha-olefin and paraffin. Other petroleum products like lubricants and bitumen or natural products like canola oil, soybean oil, coconut oil and palm oil, also have been used. After melting the wax it will be applied by just mechanical mixing with polymer coated granules. Normally the polymer is thermoset to avoid any damages of polymer by the waxs high temperature in its melting point. The wax normally should have drop melting point from 50 to 120 °C. Wax is normally about 0.2% to 10 % by weight of fertilizer [17, 28, 34, 35]. 2.5.4. Filler-polymer coated CRFs As mentioned before, despite lots of advantages of polymer coating to make slow release properties when such polymers are used as a sole coating material the ultimate product would be expensive as you have to consume large amounts of polymer. Using mineral or organic fillers is one way to avoid using large amount of polymer. Also, in some researches fillers play the role of detackifier, to prevent adherence of coated granules to each other. In addition they are strengthening agent of coatings [36]. Fillers may be used either as a mixture with polymer to make a nano-composite polymer [37] or as a separate layer. The most common method is the latter in which the filler will be added by mixing with polymer coated granules before drying the granules. Most common used fillers are some very fine(less than 20 microns) inert inorganic materials like clay, diatomaceous earth, bentonite, kaolin, gypsum powdered limestone, talc, barium sulfate. Some other fillers like waste cellulosic materials also have used as filler in combination with polymer [37-41]. 2.6. Techniques of applying polymer coating According to previous studies have been done, encapsulation methods of fertilizers can be divided into three methods including in-situ, spraying and mixing. 2.6.1. In situ This method includes formation of fluid dispersion of the soluble fertilizer in a solvent and mixing the prepared solution with monomers of a polymer coating. Polymerization will happen and depending on the method, granules or particles of fertilizers will form. Ni et al [42] have developed a double-coated urea fertilizer. For preparation of poly (N-vinyl-pyrrolidone) hydrogels containing urea (PCU), the monomer and a solution of urea in N-vinyl-pyrrolidone were mixed together. The polymerization was carried out at 65-C for 3 h. The resulting samples were vacuum-dried, milled, screened and stored. After that first coating was dried, sample and some amounts of urea were mixed with sodium alginate (SA) solution. Mixed solution was then added drop wise into 5% (w/w) CaCl2 aqueous solution and stirred constantly. The drops immediately turned into granules (about 4mm in diameter) because the SA in the drop was crosslinked by Ca2+ at once. The granules were filtered and dried in oven at 70- C. Then the granules were added to ethylcellulose ethanol solution. Multiple ethylcellulose (EC) coatings were prepared by immersion of the previously coated granules into the ethylcellulose solution repeatedly. Thus, EC-coated urea granules with different coa ting thickness were obtained. Hanafi et al [43], have coated a compound fertilizer by polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyacrylamide (PA), natural rubber (NR), and polylactic acid (PLA) using in situ method. For encapsulation of compound fertilizer with polyacrylamide the granules were added to the solution mixture of monomers. Then the polymerization reaction will start in existence of fertilizers. The thickness of the coating layer on the compound fertilizer granules, determined by SEM(Fig.2), gave PVC compound coated fertilizer the highest value of 3.04 lm, and the lowest was obtained by PA (2.04  µm). Variation in the characteristics of the polymers would be utilized in producing CR compound fertilizer that fit the requirements of growing plants. Hudson et al [28] used epoxy to coat the fertilizer. In this research the urea granules were charged to a pan and warmed to 95 °C. Then the hydrogenated tallaw amine, 2-amino ethyl peperazine and bisphenol A diglycidyl ether were mixed and were added to the granules. Meanwhile polymerization happened and prepared mixture was agitated till the fertilizer granules dried. 2.6.2. Spraying method This method is most common method for coating application on fertilizer granules in state of the art. Usually, the solution of polymer in a suitable solvent is sprayed on the granule of fertilizer and then the granules are dried to remove the solvent through evaporation. The treatment is repeated as often as necessary until the desired coating percentage is reached. Tomaszewska et al [44] have used spray technique for encapsulation of fertilizers. In order to improve the properties of coatings, the granules of previously coated fertilizer (wet method) were sprayed with a polymer solution or pure solvent (N,N dimethylformamide). Concentration of the polymer in solutions used for spraying was in the range of 13-17 wt%. Measurements of thickness, porosity of prepared coatings and microphotographic observation of the coatings were taken. Fig.3 shows the cross section of double coated fertilizer. Ma et al [45] have developed a method for encapsulation of fertilizer with a self assembled coating. The fertilizer granules were heated in a rotary drum to 75 °C for 10 minutes. Then the self assembling amphiphilic molecules (N,N-bisaminoethyl eleostearate) were sprayed over the fertilizer. After 20 minutes aliphatic isocyanates were sprayed over fertilizer. This process was repeated once again. The fertilizer kept for drying in the 75 °C for 20 minutes. Dai et al [46] also, have developed a controlled release fertilizer using a water soluble resin as a coating. The granular compound fertilizer was coated in fluidized bed. Lan et al [47], prepared a double-coated slow-release NPK fertilizer with superabsorbent and water-retention properties (DSFSW), whose inner coating was chitosan (CTS), and the outer coating was crosslinked poly (acrylic acid)/diatomite-containing urea (PAADU). This prepared product not only has slow-release property but also could absorb a large amount of water and preserve the soil moisture at the same time. In addition, the outer coating (PAADU) could protect the inner coating (CTS) from mechanical damage. These were significant advantages over the normal slow release or controlled-release fertilizers, which generally have only a slow-release property. The results indicated that the DSFSW could be found an application in agriculture and horticulture, especially in drought-prone regions where the availability of water is insufficient. At first, the outer coating containing urea diatomite (PAADU) was prepared. The NPK compound fertilizer granule was placed into a rotary drum, and th e chitosan powder was stuck on the granules by means of epoxy dissolved in acetone. The adhesive was applied by spraying at regular time intervals. The process was finished until compact and homogeneous coating formed on fertilizer granule. The coated granules were dried to a constant mass at room temperature for 6 h. Then the CTS-coated NPK compound fertilizer granules were obtained. CTS-coated fertilizer granules were dipped in water and then were immediately placed on PAADU powder and shaken. In this manner, PAADU could adhere to the surface of CTS-coated NPK compound fertilizer and form the outer coating. The surface of the product was crosslinked by spraying methanol solution of epoxy chloropropane and then dried in a 70  °C oven to obtain the final product which is a double-coated slow-release fertilizer with superabsorbent and water-retention properties. Hansen et al [26], encapsulate the granular fertilizer with the epoxy resin using spray method. In this research not coated fertilizer was placed in a rotating drum and pre heated to 250 ° F. A rapid drying solution of copolymers dicyclopentadiene and a modified vegetable oil were applied over fertilizer using spray in a thin stream of resin. Simultaneously hot air was passed through drum. Next monomers of second resin including a mixture of epoxidized soybean oil and polyester curing agent were applied over prepared granules. The solvent was a mixture of xylene and Cellosolve acetate. Hansen et al [29] also have used the above mentioned method for encapsulation of fertilizer with polyurethane. First of all the preheated fertilizer was coated by a synthetic drying oil. After drying the coating for a few minutes fertilizer were dusted by clay. Then urethane solution in xylene and Cellosolve acetate was applied using spray. 2.6.3. Mixing In this method granules are simply mixed with the coating at its melting point or with a solution of polymer in a suitable solvent. Tomaszewska et al [48] used this method for coating the granular NPK fertilizer with polysulfone (PSF), cellulose acetate (CA) and polyacrylonitrile (PAN). The coating solutions were prepared by the dissolution of the solid polymer in adequate solvent. The NPK fertilizer was successively added to adequate polymer solution, and was covered by a thin layer of the solution. Subsequently, granules were dropped into water, where the gelation process takes place. The coated granules were removed from the precipitation bath and then dried to a constant mass. The multiple coatings were prepared by immersion of the single coated fertilizer into adequate polymer solution, then into water and drying. Hon [37] has prepared the coated granules by mixing method. After melting the thermoplastic polymer by heating, the cellulosic additive has been added to melt resin. Then after allowing the temperature to drop, for avoiding the fertilizer damage, the granules or powder fertilizer has been mixed with the prepared mixture using a Brabender Mixer. Markusch et al [49] just has mixed the fertilizer pellets with at first, a diluted polyol and then with a diluted isocyantae to make a polyurethane coating. Then the feretilizer were placed in oven for drying. 2.7. Polymers used as coating for CRFs A broad range of polymers has been used in fertilizer coating. These polymers could be thermoset, thermoplastic or biodegradable. Some of common thermoset polymers are urethane resin, epoxy resin, alkyd resin, unsaturated polyester resin, phenol resin, urea resin, melamine resin, phenol resin, silicon resin. Among them, urethane resin urethane is very common used [26,50]. Thermoplastic resins are not very common used in art because of some problems. As mentioned before a very preferable method of applying polymers is spraying the dissolved polymer over granules. Either some of thermoplastic resins are not soluble in a solvent or make a very viscose solution which is not suitable for spraying. Polyolefine is used in art for coating the fertilizer granules [37, 51]. Biopolymers, dispose in bioactive environments, degrade by the enzymatic action of microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, and algae and their polymer chains may also be broken down by non enzymatic processes such as chemical hydrolysis. Non-biodegradable polymers are not environmental friendly. Due to environmental concerns there are some trends of replacing non-bio with bio degradable polymers as coating material from 1970s. But it should be mentioned that they are expensive yet and not very cost effective. Also, in production process durability of polymer should be adjusted with release time of fertilizer. Among natural and synthetic biopolymers starch and cellulose based polymers, chitosan (a linear  polysaccharide), poly lactic acid and poly(ÃŽ µ-caprolactone) due to low cost and abundance are some of used biopolymers in fertilizer industry[31,42,47,52-58] Generally, polymer coatings are applied in a thickness which is suitable to make a desired controlled release property. Thickness could be related to characteristic of polymer and also it depends on existed porosity of polymer surface. If water vapor transmission rate of coating material is 0.01 to 20, coating thickness would be 1 to 100 microns. Preferred coating thickness is 1 to 50 microns. Coating process could be repeated more than one layer to get desired nutrient release [39]. Typical physical method for encapsulating fertilizers are spray coating, spray drying, pan coating, rotary disk atomization. Special equipments for these methods are rotary drum, pan or ribbon or paddle mixer and fluidized bed [59, 60] 2.8. Investigation of release behavior of CRFs Release mechanism of nutrients for different coatings is different. Thick encapsulated granules like sulfur coating will allow the nutrient to release when a flaw or rupture appears on the coating surface. In this case, rupture will happen because of permeation of water into coating and inside osmotic pressure. Also, biodegradable polymers will release nutrients while destroying by soil microbes activity. In polymer coatings or combination of different coatings release will happen by diffusion of water through walls porosities. In this case release rate can be controlled by the particle size of coated granules, thickness of coating and permeability of coating surface. Also, changing the chemical composition of fertilizer core and also the coating will change permeability of coating. This means that even basic or acidic environment will change the permeability. In some researches when the coating has been starch-vinyl, increasing size of encapsulated granules has led to slowing down the nutrient release [61,62]. There are some standard test methods for measurement of controlled release properties. According To European standard the standard release time of N during 24 h should be 15% of total core nutrient. Also, release rate for 15 day should be 75% of total nutrients. Also American and Japanese standards say that the initial release shouldnt be more than 40% of total nutrient. According to European standards for measuring the release rate encapsulated fertilizer should be immersed in pure water at 25  °C (room temperature) in incubated state [63, 64]. For example Detrick et all [33] have investigated the release behavior of their product by immersion of 20 g of encapsulated granules for 8 h in water. After filtration of solid they dried the solid. Evaporation of water was done at 100  °C for 8 hours. Also, Ma et all [21] placed 14 g of granules in wire mesh holder and then placed it into a jar with 300 ml water at 23  °C and agitated it by an orbital shaker. Then, adequate water was taken for elemental analysis. Locquenghien et al [30] for investigation the slow release effect of fertilizer extracted some amounts of fertilizer continuously with water. For this purpose the granules were arranged in layer in a cylindrical vessel field with water. Water was passed through this layer and its nitrogen content was analyzed. 2.9. Tracing nano-technology features in fertilizer industry Reviewing literature shows that researches which have used nano-technology features in fertilizer industry are very rare. Nano-Clay is the most common nano-particle which have been used to produce CRFs. The main benefits of nano-clay particles in these researches are using them as reservoir of urea or as filler for polymer coating. 2.9.1. Nano-clay as carrier of urea The layered clays like montmorillonite and kaolinite are made of high aspect ratio nano layers. Large surface areas and reactivity of nanolayers is much greater than that of micrometer size materials. Also, their surfaces and interfaces provide an active substrate for physical, chemical, and biological reactions [65]. Because of these features nanolayers could be a suitable carrier or reservoir of fertilizers. Mechanisms which are involved in interaction between clay and organic materials depends on some factors like clay type, functional groups of organic material and physical or chemical properties of organic material. For example basic molecules bond strongly to montmorillonite but anionic molecules show much weaker interaction bands. Also, for instance benzoic acid or anionic species are adsorbed on the edge face of clay or cationic( crystal violet) are adsorbed on the basal plane. According to table 1 which shows different interaction of organic compound with clay, interaction between clay and urea could be through cation exchange, cation bridging and hydrogen bonding [66]. Table 1 Interactions between clay minerals and organic compounds [66] Mechanism Mineral examples Organic functional groups involved Hydrophobic interactions (van der Waals) Any clay with neutral sites (e.g., kaolinite, smectites) Uncharged, non polar (e.g., aromatic, alkyl C) Hydrogen bonding Any clay with oxygen surfaces (e.g., kaolinite) Amines, carbonyl, carboxyl, phenylhydroxyl, heterocycle N Protonation Alumino silicate edge sites, Fe and Al oxides, allophane, imogolite Amines, heterocycle N, carbonyl, carboxylate, Ligand exchange Aluminosilicate edge sites, Fe and Al oxides, allophane, imogolite Carboxylate, Phenolate Cation exchange (permanent charge sites) Smectite, vermiculite, illite Amines, ring NH, heterocyclic N pH-dependent charge sites (anion exchange usually, cation exchange rarely) Aluminosilicate edge sites, Fe and Al oxides, allophane, imogolite Carboxylate for anion exchange, amines, ring NH, heterocyclic N for cation exchange Cation bridging Smectite, vermiculite, illite Carboxylate, amines, carbonyl, alcoholic OH Water bridging Reviewing

Human Trafficking Essay -- Ethical Issues, Gang, Mafia

"An ounce of cocaine, wholesale: $1 ,200. You can sell it only once. A woman or child is $50 to $1,000 but you can sell her each day, every day, over and over and over again. The markup is immeasurable." (Human Trafficking) says David Sutherland who plays Bill Meechan an ICE agent in Lifetime's movie Human Trafficking. The buying and selling of humans is an age old issue that has dated as far back as 1750 B.C. Although slavery is illegal in the United States, we still see it happening in our own towns and cities all through America. Each year there are over 20,000 woman and children illegally imported across the United States borders for domestic and sex slavery. Laws, some new, and many that have been around for hundreds of years, have been passed and approved by congress to protect our natural rights. In order to alleviate instances of human trafficking and sex slavery, society as a whole must demand that government be harsher, more diplomatic and aggressive to fight this "special evil" (Landesman 1), as President Bush referred to it. There needs to be more money in the hands of immigration and naturalization to control our borders better, and more government funding in education to raise awareness of human trafficking for our own protection and for the protection of individuals Kevin Bales, President of Free the Slaves (a nonprofit organization to support the victims of human trafficking) estimates that today there are over 20,000 women and children annually trafficked across United States borders. It is said that at any given time there are an estimated 30,000-50,000 people being held in captivity in the United States (Landesman 4). The women and children that are bound into this sick and tw... ...nd children trafficked across the world. At any given time there are over 30,000 victims of this "special evil". Just the amount of women stuck in captivity within the United States is more than the amount trafficked worldwide. This is an unbelievable problem socially, economically, and morally. These women are tortured, mentally and physically, daily for as long as they can last in this entrapment. Each year there is an Mease 8 -", estimated 7 billion dollars earned in shadow market. This money is used for drugs, gangs, mafia, violence, and other types of domestic slavery. AIDS and many other diseases are also spread because of this issue. There is absolutely nothing positive that could ever come from human trafficking. Together citizens and authorities of government can combat this problem with the tools of education and government funding.

Philosophical Movement that Shaped Philippine Education Essay

Pre-colonial period During the pre-colonial period, education was still decentralized. Children were provided with more vocational training but fewer academics. Philippine schools were headed by parents or by their tribal tutors. They employed a unique writing system known as baybayin. Spanish Period When the Spanish first arrived in Manila, they were surprised to find a population with a literacy rate higher than that of Madrid. During the early Spanish period, most education was conducted by religious orders. The church and the school both worked together. All Christian villages had schools for students to attend. Spanish missionaries established schools immediately after reaching the islands. There was a separate school for boys and girls. The wealthy Filipinos or the Ilustrados were accommodated in the school. The Educational Decree of 1863 created a free public education system in the Philippines, run by the government. It was the first such education system in Asia. First Republic The Malolos Republic: Also called The First Philippine Republic Because of the destruction of many schools and to the peace and order condition, all the schools were closed for the time being. Aguinaldo decreed that all diplomas awarded by UST after 1898 be considered null and void Article 23 of the Malolos Constitution mandated that public education would be free and obligatory in all schools of the nation under the First Philippine Republic Aguinaldo included an item for public instruction amounting P35, 000 in the budget for 1899. August 29, 1898, the Secretary of the Interior ordered the provincial governors to reestablish the schools that had been abandoned before. American Period American Expeditionary forces were sent to Philippines with a mission to destroy the Spanish Armanda in Manila Bay as part of the strategy to defeat the Spaniards in the Spanish-American War ranging at that time in Cuba. ï‚â€"Americans won, and on the Treaty of Paris on December 10, 1898, the Philippines was ceded to the United State by the Spanish for the paltry sum of US $20 Million. 1898, American occupied Manila. Reopened schools where in the American Soldiers were the first teachers. Education should be  universal and free for all regardless of sex, age, religion and socio-economic status of the individual. Act No. 74, established the public primary school in 1901 and intermediate school in 1904 which provides free public education. Thomasites – group of professionals sent by the United State Government who where assigned to teach English language. Act No. 372, required all provinces to maintain a provincial high school. 1901 – Philippine Normal School was founded to train teachers. 1908 – University of the Philippines was established. Education was the means of giving people and orientation towards a democratic way of life. Japanese Period 1941- the Pacific War broke out and the Philippines came under the Japanese occupation. Department of Education, Health and Public Welfare – its function is to reopen schools and to make reports to the Japanese Administration. Military order no. 2 in 1942 – Japanese educational policies were embodied in the Military Order No. 2. The Philippines Executive Commission established. Schools were reopened in June 1942 with 300,000 students. Third Republic During the period from the proclamation of the Third Philippine Republic on July 4, 1946, under the administration of President Manuel Roxas until the pre-martial law days of the Marcos regime, the country’s educational philosophy was in accordance with the provisions of Article XIV, section 5 of the 1935 Constitution which provides that: all educational institution is under the supervision of and subject to regulation of the State the government shall provide at least free primary instruction and citizenship training to adults. the educational aims are to develop moral character, personal discipline, civic consciousness, and vocational efficiency and teach the duties of citizenship religious education is optional Universities enjoy academic freedom the State shall create scholarships for gifted citizens. Fourth Republic ï‚â€"n 1972, the Department of Education became the Department of Education and Culture by the virtue of Proclamation 1081 which was signed by President Ferdinand Marcos. on January 17, 1973, President Marcos ratified the 1973  Constitution by Proclamation 1102. The 1973 Constitution set out the three fundamental aims of education in the Philippines, to: ââ€" ¦Foster love of country; ââ€" ¦teach the duties of citizenship; and ââ€" ¦develop moral character, self-discipline, and scientific, technological and vocational efficiency. ï‚â€"On September 24, 1972, by Presidential Decree No. 1, the Department of Education, Culture and Sports was decentralized with decision-making shared among thirteen regional offices. In 1978, by the Presidential Decree No. 1397, the Department of Education and Culture became the Ministry of Education and Culture. The Education Act of 1982 provided for an integrated system of education covering both formal and non-formal education at all levels. Section 16 and Section 17 upgraded the obligations and qualifications required for teachers and administrators; while Section 41 provided for government financial assistance to private schools. This act also created the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports. Fifth Republic On February 2, 1987, a new Constitution for the Philippines was ratified. Section 3, Article XIV of the 1987 Constitution contains the ten fundamental aims of education in the Philippines. It is also seen that under the 1987 Constitution, only elementary school is compulsory. In 1987 by virtue of Executive Order No. 117, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports, became the Department of Education, Culture and Sports. The structure of DECS as embodied in the order remained practically unchanged until 1994. On May 26, 1988, the Congress of the Philippines enacted the Republic Act 6655, the Free Public Secondary Education Act of 1988, which mandated free public secondary education commencing in the school year 1988–1989. On February 3, 1992, the Congress enacted Republic Act 7323, which provided that students aged 15 to 25 may be employed during Christmas and summer vacation with a salary not lower than the minimum wage. 60% of the wage is to be paid by the employer and 40% is by the government. On May 18, 1994, the Congress passed Republic Act 7722, the Higher Education Act of 1994, creating the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), which assumed the functions of the Bureau of Higher Education, and supervises tertiary degree programs. On August 25, 1994, the Congress passed Republic Act 7796, the Technical Education and Skills Development Act of 1994, creating the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority(TESDA) 2000s and K-12 Program In August 2001, Republic Act 9155, otherwise called the Governance of Basic Education Act, was passed transforming the name of the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS) to the Department of Education (DepEd) The goal of basic education is to provide the school age population and young adults with skills, knowledge and values to become caring, self-reliant, productive and patriotic citizens. 2010s and the K-12 Program The start of this century’s second decade saw a major improvement in the Philippine education system. In 2011, DepEd started to implement the new K-12 educational system, which includes the new curricula for all schools. In this system, education is now compulsory. The implementation of the K-12 program is â€Å"phased†. The K-12 Program means Kindergarten and the 12 years of elementary and secondary education, which is part of the Educational Program of President Benigno Simeon â€Å"Noynoy† C. Aquino III.

Ethan Frome and Age of Innonce Essay Essay

Edith Warthon was born in New York City into a very wealthy family. She was forced into a loveless marriage and eventually fell in love with another man. Her life closely resembles the two books she wrote–Age of Innocence and Ethan Frome. Age of Innocence was a novel by Edith Warthon that was turned into a movie. Newland was about to marry May when May’s cousin Ellen came from Europe to New York. Newland found himself wanting to be with Ellen rather than May. Ethan Frome was very similar to Age of Innocence and was the story of a poor man, his wife, and her cousin who find themselves in a love conflict. Ethan was married to Zeena, his very ill wife. In order for Ethan to continue to work, Zeena’s cousin, Mattie, came to take care of her. Ethan instantly fell for the young, charming, and beautiful Mattie. The film and the novel share similarities in the representation of symbolism and jealousy in the main characters yet differ in how their love affairs were resolved. Both Age of Innocence and Ethan Frome shared similar symbolism. To start with, in Age of Innocence, Newland and May attend an opera. In this opera the man kissed the brown string on the women’s dress as he walked away from her. He needed to leave her because they should not be together, just like Newland and Ellen should not be together because he was engaged to her cousin. This compared to the part in Ethan Frome, when Mattie knitted the brown stuff and Ethan kissed it. Mattie pulled the brown stuff away from Ethan before long. This symbolized the fact that Ethan needed to leave her because he was married to Zeena for seven years. These parts are related because they both symbolize a love that needed to be forgotten, a love that needed to be left in the past. Secondly, Newland and Ethan are very similar. In Age of Innocence, Newland encouraged Ellen to stay in New York and not go back to her husband. Although Newland was engaged to be married he wanted her to himself. He did everything he could to get her to stay away from her ex-husband. Her ex-husband begged and pleaded for her to come back and Newland got jealous and convinced her to stay. In Ethan Frome, Zeena mentioned that Mattie would soon leave and would maybe wed Dennis Eady. Ethan soon became furious and said she would never marry him and she would never leave Zeena when she needed her–or more importantly him. Dennis Eady! If that’s all, I guess, there’s no such hurry to look around for a girl† (Wharton, 34). Later, Ethan saw that Mattie danced with Dennis Eady. He got jealous and could not go into the room and get her so he hid. Newland and Ethan both wanted something they knew was not really theirs and did not want them to be with anyone else. Although Newland and Ethan were very similar, they were also very different. Each fell in love with his wife’s cousin, but Newland knew his responsibilities; he knew he had to stay with his wife, and that was what Ethan did not know. In Age of Innocence, when Ellen found out that May was pregnant, she left for London. She knew she could no longer interfere with their relationship. Newland was going to follow her but when he found out he was going to have a child with May Newland knew he needed to stay with her. And that was where Newland and Ethan differ. In Ethan Frome, Ethan was going to stay with Zeena and let Mattie leave but when she was about to leave he decided he was going to be the one to drive Mattie to the train station. On the way, they took a trip down memory lane and revisited many spots where they fell for each other. Then they stopped to sled and Mattie and Ethan agreed to kill themselves and escape Zeena. Newland knew that he needed to stay and be with May even though he may have been happier with Ellen. Ethan only thought about himself when he tried to kill himself and that’s where they differ. Newland’s and Ethan’s lives could have been better if they had left their wives and followed the person they were in love with. If May had never gotten pregnant then he could have gone to Europe and followed Ellen. Newland would have been happier with having a family with Ellen rather than May. If Ethan had left Zeena and went west with Mattie he could have been so much happier. He would not have to pay to care for Zeena. Also, he would have been with someone he actually wanted to marry, not someone whom he married just to avoid being lonely in the winter after his mom died. All in all, Age of Innocence and Ethan Frome are very similar but still different. They are similar because of the symbolism used. Also, Newland and Ethan are very similar because of whom they fell in love with. However, they differ due to the way Newland and Ethan handled the situation of being in love with their wife’s cousin.

Papae Essay Example

Papae Essay Example Papae Essay Papae Essay How to Read a Journal Article Journal articles can be challenging to read, but most contain many of the same components. Once you understand the structure of each article, understanding the content is much simpler. Journal articles normally contain the following parts. For each part, try to identify the following: Abstract The abstract is normally one paragraph that appears before the article. The abstract provides a summary of the entire article You should read it carefully to determine the following: What topic are the authors studying? What was their primary finding? Literature Review The literature review is often at the beginning of the article. You can identify it because it contains citations, like (McCollum and Miller, 2008) The literature review provides information about past studies that have been done on this topic You should read it carefully to determine the following: What are some of the most important past findings on this topic? How have these past studies led the authors to do this particular study? Overview the basic literature that serves as the foundation for the study. Methods The methods section follows the literature review. It can often be identified because it will have a title of methods or methodology The methods section provides information about the individuals that the authors studied and the way that they conducted their analysis You should read it carefully to determine the following: Who were the participants in this sample? What makes them unique? Is the sample a good representation of the entire population? If not, how are they different? Is the study qualitative (based on interviews, ethnography, participant observation, or content analysis), quantitative (based on statistical analysis), or multi-method includes both qualitative and quantitative analysis) Be able to identify sample, population, and methods. In addition, be able to discuss the benefits/challenges associated with the sample and method. Results findings The results section provides information about what the authors found when they analyzed their data You should read it carefully to determine the What were some of the authors main findings? What are the main findings of the research? Please note: you are not expected to be able to read the tables/graphs or to understand the numbers provided by the authors. Instead, you should focus on the text of the results section. Conclusion/Discussion The conclusion or discussion section follows the results section. It will often have the title conclusion or discussion The conclusion or discussion section summarizes the authors main findings and explains why the findings are so important You should read it carefully to determine the following: What were the authors overall findings? Why are these findings important? What limitations of the study do the authors identify (if any)? What suggestions for future research do the authors make (if any)? Be able to discuss how the current findings connect to past literature what overall contribution does the article make to the discipline? How to Critique a Journal Article 1 . Avoid style based critiques. Style based critiques are such comments as the article was well written, or the author used too much Jargon. While these things may be true, these critiques do not add much in the way of a substantive response. 2. Address Potential Additions and/or Concerns. Instead of style based critiques, focus your critiques on the ways the author does (or does not) support his/her argument or on alternative explanations and/or counter-evidence from other course materials 3. Consider the following questions a. Do you agree or disagree with the authors argument based on other scholarly literature? B. Is the authors argument sociologi cal? Why or why not? C. Is there anything about the authors logic that makes their argument questionable? Is there anything about the authors methods that makes their argument questionable? D. Does the author base their arguments on facts or generalizations? If the author makes generalizations, do you feel these generalizations are Justified? To what groups or individuals might this argument not apply based on these generalizations? E. Does the author present counterintuitive? How does the authors treatment of counterintuitive aid or limit their effectiveness? F. Does the author overstate their argument? Does the author stay within the scope of the paper? Do they avoid grandiose claims? G. What questions are left unanswered? Do the unanswered questions limit the impact of the authors argument? H. How did this Journal Article Assessment Due September 12, 2013 to B ONLY (not a hardcopy or via email) Late papers will not e accepted. Use the McCabe, Terrine, and Butterflies (2002) article Honor Codes and Other Contextual Influences on Academic Integrity uploaded in Assignments on B to complete this assignment. Answer the following questions in paragraph form (complete sentences, correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and citation style): 1) What were the researchers interested in studying? What was the hypothesis or what research question were they trying to address? 2) Who were the participants in this study (how many, what were their characteristics)? What was the population? ) How was the research conducted (describe how data were collected)? 4) What were the findings? 5) How do the findings relate to the literature review? 6) Make sure you include correctly formatted citations and a reference. You may find directions at http://owl. English. Purdue. Due/owl/resource/583/01 land then search for AS. Your answers must be typed, double-spaced, in a reasonable font. Please format the assignment by the number rather than as an essay. Save the file as harassment AJAX. Doc (or . Dock). Include your name on your Word document (only Word docs will e accepted so please do not turn in assignments that are saved in any other format. If I were turning in the assignment, my doc would be titled: *Beware of plagiarism?write your answers in your own words (paraphrase), not those of the authors. If you want to quote (and you should do so sparingly) make sure you correctly format your in text citation. Journal Article Assessment: Adolescent Romance and Delinquency Student Name Here Soc 366, Deviance 1) What were the researchers interested in studying? What literature serves as the foundation for their project? The researchers were interested in examining the relationship between romantic ties among adolescents and delinquency (Giordano, Leonardo, Manning, and Longer 2010). More specifically, their objective is to determine whether self-reported delinquency is associated significantly with variations in a range of relationship qualities and dynamics suggested by Hirsch cold and brittle Hirsch hypothesis, but extend the argument to the adolescents, romance, and delinquency (Giordano et al. 2010). The researchers also incorporated a social learning perspective to determine if it might also affect youths delinquency in a mantic context (Giordano et al. 2010). 2) What are the hypotheses/research questions? Who were the participants (how many, what were their characteristics)? One of their hypotheses is youths engaged in delinquency will convey less importance to romantic relationships, fewer partners in a romantic context, and fewer levels of intimate expression (Giordano et al. 2010:926). In addition, youths engaged in delinquency will be associated positively with conflict and disagreements and will be related inversely to relationship duration (Giordano et al. 2010: 926). The searchers hypothesize that there will be little disparity in the level of warmth and intimacy or amount of cold within delinquents romantic relationships. Independent variables included relationship qualities, frequency of interaction, importance of the relationship, intimate self-disclosure, love, verbal conflict, and duration of the relationship as dependent variables. Delinquency was the independent variable (Giordano et al. 2010). 4) What did they find? The authors found that the cold hypothesis was not supported by the data in this study. Specifically, they found that delinquency does not seem to be related to he variables associated with adolescent romance. They also found that relationship duration did not vary in association with delinquency. In fact, more delinquent youth spent more time with romantic partners than predicted. More delinquent youth, relationships. 5) How do the findings relate to the literature review? (I. E. , Whats the take-away from this article in terms of its contribution to new knowledge)? The research in this study is consistent with previous literature discussed in the Literature Review. Specifically, results are consistent with prior research that links adolescent delinquency later intimate partner violence perpetration and factorization. These findings can be interpreted through the social learning theory, and prior research links child abuse and parental conflict with delinquency. They also found that meeting a partners parents was associated with lower levels of delinquency that is also consistent with previous research. Overall, the researchers found some support for their hypotheses, but others were not supported. This indicates that there is some consistency with previous literature but additional research needs to be conducted to make more general statements about leniency and adolescent romance.

Roe V Wade Essays - Sexual Revolution, United States Law

Roe V Wade Essays - Sexual Revolution, United States Law Roe V Wade Daniel DellaCroce Law and the Legal System Roe v. Wade 410 U.S. 113 The case of Roe v. Wade started back in the state of Texas. This was where a single pregnant woman brought a class action challenging the constitutionality of the Texas abortion laws. This is where in Texas it is a criminal offense to have an abortion. The case got to the Supreme Court by way of the district court by the state of Texas appealing to the Supreme Court to over turn the ruling of the district court. The district court found that Roe did have grounds to file the suit against the state of Texas. This was on the grounds that the abortion laws in Texas infringed on the ninth and fourteenth amendments of the constitution. The case was brought to the Supreme Court based on a woman who had sought to get an abortion in the state of Texas. She sought out a doctor named Hallford, who had done many other abortions in other states. Hallford subsequently at the time of the trial was pending two other abortion prosecutions against him. The main theory that Roe argued before the Supreme Court was the fact that outlawing abortion was infringing on a womans right to privacy. These rights are covered under the ninth and fourteenth amendments of the constitution. Roe questioned on whether or not the state of Texas could pass a law that infringed on these rights, if abortion was covered under these rights at all. Texas had stated that an abortion was only legal when the mothers life was threatened. The case was brought before the Supreme Court because it handled a law that could be unconstitutional. The mail issue before the Supreme Court was on whether or not a womans right to an abortion was covered under the constitution. Does the Constitution embrace the right of a woman to obtain an abortion, nullifying the Texas prohibition? If it were covered under the ninth and fourteenth amendments then it would be affecting the whole country. The Supreme Court in a decision five to four held that abortion was covered under the ninth and fourteenth amendments. The Supreme Court held that a woman's right to an abortion fell within the right to privacy (recognized in Griswold v. Connecticut) protected by the Fourteenth Amendment. The decision gave a woman a right to abortion during the entirety of the pregnancy and defined different levels of state interest for regulating abortion in the second and third trimesters.

Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Planning - Free Samples

Workforce planning is the strategic alignment of the organization’s workforce with that of organizational needs and goals. It is a continual process where the main purpose is to ensure that all organizational, legislative and regulation objectives are achieved through the implementation of the workforce development strategy. The important ponents of workforce planning includes analyzing the strength of current workforce, identifying immediate and future needs of workforce and implementing strategic steps to fulfill unmet needs of employees. The importance and benefits of workforce planning is that the process ensures getting the right number of people with rights skills in the organization. This eventually has an impact on organizational mission, budget planning and strengthening workforce petencies[1].The main purpose of this report is to understand the important ponents of workforce planning and analyze the impact of different internal and external factors on workforce plan. The importance of contingency plan is also discussed to ove e challenges during the workforce development process. Workforce planning consists of staffing and scheduling decisions to determine the number and types of employees to be hired or dismissed in an organization. The process initiates with the development of mission, vision and business objectives of the organization and assessment of the number of workforce and skills needed to fulfill different objectives. This process of forecasting helps organization to achieve balance between supply and demands and find our better strategies for agility and value of business. The human resource professionals plays a crucial role in forecasting the type of talent needed in organization and developing recruitment strategies accordingly[2]. For example, when a new pany is going to start business, they engage in workforce planning by setting different roles required from top to bottom in an organization to a plish business objectives. In addition, already established panies engage in maintaining employment stability. This is necessary because of changes in skills mix due to technological advancement and other issues in business. For example, in the health care industry, the main deployment of health care staffs with requisite skill is critical for efficient service delivery in the area of cost, quality as well as quantity. Failure to deploy enough staffs often leads to shortage of clinical staff or oversupply. Shortage of staffs is associated with many negative ou es such as burnout and medical error, whereas oversupply leads to economic efficiencies in the health care organization[3]. Hence, human resource planning is address pitfalls and promotes efficiency in business. Leaders also play an important role in human resource planning. They are involved in making progression plan for important positions, developing skills of existing employees, mentoring them and assigning employees into different projects. Mentoring role is mainly given to senior employees to maintain and develop the talents and skills of employees. Although young graduates e to business organization with academic knowledge and zeal, they lack the skills understand specific business or corporate dynamic[4]. Hence, mentors support new employees to ove e challenges in job on a daily basis and learn new tactics to ove e certain challenges in the job. Both leadership and workforce development are an important ponent that decides the success of business organization. Training for leaders and workforce development is effective when leaders and employee develop the required petencies to achieve desired business objectives. A strong focus on training and development is also beneficial in plementing talent acquisition strategy. Well trained leaders and employees eventually support the organization to gain a petitive edge[5]. However, there are many challenges in the process of training and development process which may hamper the purpose of training. There is a need to evaluate the impact and success of training to ensure time and investment is done in the right area to get the right results. A research done on impact of training and development of employees on employee performance in the tel sector has revealed that performance of employee’s improved and proper training method also increased the satisfaction level of employees . Barriers in participation in training program is seen when employees are not aware about the benefits of training and development. In such cases, there is a need to raise awareness among workforce regarding the importance and benefits of training[6]. Recruitment and retention activities are the cornerstone of workforce planning and employment. Some of the mon recruitment strategies include conducting job analysis, identifying key petencies for different job position, developing recruitment criteria and systematic process for recruitment. With the advent of technology and the digital revolution, business environment has b e very unpredictable. In such situation, it has b e most important for top business panies to recruit the right talent who can evolve in their role due to changes in business environment. Different organizations prepare their own human resource strategy and recruitment strategy is aligned with them to source diverse human resource into the organization[7]. The main aim of recruitment strategy is to select right recruitment sources and selection of the right websites promotes dissemination of the job vacancies to desired candidates. After the recruitment process, the most tricky and challenging process is the retention of talent in organization. panies introduce bonus scheme and continual professional development initiative to ensure that human resource could be retained and most promising employees follow the path towards more responsible roles[8]. The specific process of recruitment and employee retention in specific industry can also be understood from example of specific industry. Walmart is the leading retail giant of U.S. and the HR management of Walmart manages recruitment needs using different methods suitable to different position in their organization. As it is mainly a retail business chain, certain retail specific criteria is also incorporated in the selection process. In addition, their optimal strategy for employee reten tion includes an evolving pensation program, career development and employee relations management . This ensures that not just the skills, but also the morale and motivation of employees in workplace is improved[9]. Through this strategy, Walmart is capable of maintaining adequate human resource to manage current retail operations and future global expansion. Apart from regular employees, business panies focus on developing contingent workforce to get assistance during short-term or seasonal project. The recruitment strategy for contingent workforce is to get specialized skill set and talent who can serve in the organization for a part-time basis. Although this is a new concept in workforce planning, however there is a rise in the contingent workers in both profit and non-profit sectors to provide more flexibility in the job. There are numerous benefits of a contingent workforce for business organization. Firstly, it leads to cost savings as employer’s pay only for the work and the time given by employees, they do not have to cover holiday pay, health insurance and other allowance into the employee’s salary package. It also promotes productivity in business as only those contingent workers are hired who have the necessary skills to handle specific task and no training arrangement is needed for them[10]. These workers are als o very goal driven and productive within their roles. In the context of high performance work systems, contingent workforce contributes to both numerical flexibility and access to new knowledge[11]. The strategic workforce planning of business organizations are dependent on organization’s strategic plan, external factors affecting workforce changes and demand for workforce maintenance internally. The external factors that influence workforce demographics include: Workforce demographics:   In the business organization, workforce demographics changes after older generation retires and the newer baby boomer generations enter the workforce. As the new generation is highly influence and dependent on internet and digital technology, the human resource management need to make dramatic changes in their workforce strategies. For example, earlier, panies would post job vacancies in newspaper or email to attract new talents, however digital devices and social media site is highly used by HR professionals to recruit new employees into the job. Hence, with changing workforce demographics, the process of hiring as well as types of pensation package has changed[12].   Currently, petitive organizations are creating value with digital HR as the current generation is hooked to tablet or smartphones. Partners and suppliers:   The availability of appropriate partners and suppliers also affects the demand and supply of the pany and eventually the recruiting efforts needed in business panies. The importance of demand and supply data in recruitment strategy is that it provides insights about job seekers and exact number of employees needed considering the availability of suppliers and production level[13]. Political and regulatory environment: The recruitment and retention of talent in panies is challenged by different government regulation. For example, introduction of new workplace standards by the governments creates the pressure to align the work process and workplace design according to the new law. New regulatory changes in workplace standards results in changes in all areas of HR department starting from hiring, training, pensation and employee development initiative[14]. The recruitment drive in any organization requires a lot of time as well as investment. The cost involved in recruitment may vary according to the mode of recruitment, method of advertising job vacancies and the benefits provided to workers. Hence, recruiting budget is fixed on the basis of overall revenue and plete budget in other areas of the business. Organizational structure determines the type of employee and talents needed in organization. Some panies have a divisional structure where different departments in critical for business, whereas some have a functional structure where employees with specialized skills are required. Hence, based on organizational structure and workflow process, the HR department has to change the desired candidate profile and recruitment process. Company culture is defined as the shared assumptions and norms present in work environment that reflect the beliefs of the pany. A positive culture is one where all employees was fortable and have no disagreement regarding any work related behavior. In such culture, employees and leaders share their behavior and work towards mon goal. There is sense of unity in such organizations. However, there are other organizations too in which conflict and resentment in mon due to disagreement between leaders and the employee. Hence, based on the type of culture, methods of workforce planning and employee development strategies change. Culture is mainly linked with recruitment because culture has an impact on employee attraction, selection as well as retention strategies[15]. Example, panies like Qantas have a good brand image and employers are easily attracted in such panies requiring little advertising and recruitment efforts. However, in a pany which is struggling with the work culture, it is a tedious task to attract as well as retain new talents. Considering the high flexibility and unpredictability of business organization, it has b e vital for the HR department to focus on employee retention strategy. This is necessary to retain exception employees who deliver the right performance in plex situations. Recruiting the desired candidate is a time consuming process, hence retention strategy is important to save money as well as time. After an employee leaves, the HR has to start the process of recruiting and training the new joinee again which is a loss to the organization[16]. Hence, petitive organization always put lot of efforts to retain those employees who contribute significantly to the success of the organization. Some of the effective strategies that top organizations have implemented to retain employees and minimize turnover are as follows: Training employees: The process of training reinforces sense of value in employees and their motivation and satisfaction towards work is increased. The focus on training employees to develop their capabilities, skills and knowledge optimizes employee’s potential and improve their work performance. This in turn acts as major source of petitive advantage for business organization. Most business firms incorporate training employees in their long-term workforce planning so that the workforce builds new skills and develop the confidence to cope with uncertain situations in business. Both the organization as well as the employee benefits from the training process. The employee develops the perception that the organization is willing to provide career development opportunities to them and they in turn gives their best effort to achieve key business objectives[17]. Hence, training is an important necessity for the retention of skilful workforce. Rewards and recognition: One study points out that rewards also has a positive impact on job satisfaction and employee retention levels. Different sectors struggle to balance high turnover rate and skill shortage often affects their business. This is mon in the public health sector and employee retention is a challenge because of the petition factors. Most health care organization fails to match the salary with their petitors and end up losing the skilful health care personnel. In such situation, efficient reward strategies act as a good solution for retaining the core employees of the organization. Reward system mainly in the form of salary has a good impact on leaving intention of employees and employees in such organization tend to remain longer in the organization. Rewards have a direct impact on job satisfaction level and this eventually has an impact on employee retention[18]. Hence, during workforce planning, the HR department develop strategic retention plans to retain skille d labors in workplace. Coaching and feedback: The senior employee’s role in providing coaching and feedback to new employees also ensures that they remain aligned to the goals of the pany and do not focus on taking alternative career routes. Leaders support the new employees to adapt to their careers. The coaching and feedback session also provides training and development opportunities to employees which in turn strengthens the retention goal of business firm. The supervisor’s support and formal developmental process minimize voluntary turnover rates, reduces the intention to leave, increase productivity and retain a more mitted and satisfied staffs. Career discussion along with mentoring and coaching also develop career adaptability skills in workforce[19]. Currently, business organization has to deal with many unusual events such as rise in petition, changing demand of consumers and sudden drop in sales. In such situation, it b es extremely important for petitive organizations to recover from unusual events. The need for contingency plan is seen in such situations so that business managers plan in advance to protect their resources and maintain profitability in business[20]. For example, a big retail giant like Walmart also experienced a period of downturn when their sales dropped in 2016. The main reason for this unusual event was that Walmart was facing challenges in pletely transforming their stores to the internet age. In such situation, their contingency plan was to prepare for the plete transformation of their brick and mortar store to online stores[21]. Such strategy was essential to retain back the past dominance in retail sector. In an effort to execute contingency plans too, contingent workforce acts a major source of advanta ge. These workers are hired specially to engage in specialized work. In the context of Walmart, they have engaged several IT staffs to provide online options for sale to their customers. The features of the contingency plan may differ according to different industrial context. The success of contingency planning is dependent on the risk assessment process. In case of the real need for implementing such plans, all employees are made aware about the need for implementing such plans. The time schedule for each activities and the delegation of key roles for each employees is decided to maintain smooth running of the contingency plan. This process is important in the context of workforce planning to build resilience skills. The unusual event at the Medin Corporation, a supplier of the sterilization case and accessory products for medical device markets also gives effective example of the need for contingency planning. Medin business’s was affected after the Superstorm Sandy hit New Jersey and in response to this, the pany developed a crisis contingency plan by making arrangement for grants. This helped to prevent the downtime that resulted in the disasters[22]. Sim ilar type of contingency plan is also made by petitive business organization to main their sales and profitability. In the process of strategic alignment of human resource with business objectives, the industrial relation practices also determine employee performance and engagement in work. Industry relation practices are related to the workplace climate and system of practices enabling effective work performance. Some of the effective industrial relations practices in favor of employees include developing petitive succession plan, training program and performance appraisals system for employees. Employee specific industrial relation is seen when training or safety mittee focus on addressing all grievances of employees. Trade unions and employers pay much attention to skill upgradation of workers to cope with challenges in business due to technological advancement and globalization[23]. The report summarized the importance of human resource planning for achieving business objective and maintains petitive edge in business. This is a systematic process consisting of several ponents all which together helps to get the right employees with right skills sets for the success of business. The discussion on the important aspects of workforce planning has mainly revealed that it starts with the process of assessment of skills and position needed in organization and this identification plements the process of recruitment, selection and retention of employees. Despite the development of clear visions and objectives in business organization, currently panies are struggling to retain their position in specific industrial sector due to changes in external and internal environment of business. The relevant external and internal factors affecting business and employee performance has been discussed and it mainly implies that the challenges for business leader has mainly increased d ue to the introduction of new technology and digital revolution in the world. To ove e unusual events in business, development of accurate contingency plans can provide good advantage to business and HR department should pay special emphasis on retention strategies to motivate employees to stay in the job and contribute to team success. Armstrong M, Taylor S. Armstrong's handbook of human resource management practice. Kogan Page Publishers; 2014 Apr 3. De Bruecker P, Van den Bergh J, Belià «n J, Demeulemeester E. Workforce planning incorporating skills: State of the art. European Journal of Operational Research. 2015 May 16;243(1):1-6. Lopes MA, Almeida à S, Almada-Lobo B. Handling healthcare workforce planning with care: where do we stand?. Human resources for health. 2015 May 24;13(1):38. Ladegard G, Gjerde S. Leadership coaching, leader role-efficacy, and trust in subordinates. A mixed methods study assessing leadership coaching as a leadership development tool. The Leadership Quarterly. 2014 Aug 31;25(4):631-46. Wilson JP. International human resource development: Learning, education and training for individuals and organisations. Development and Learning in Organizations. 2014 Jan 28;28(2). Khan AA, Abbasi SO, Waseem RM, Ayaz M, Ijaz M. Impact of training and development of employees on employee performance through job satisfaction: A study of tel sector of Pakistan. Business Management and Strategy. 2016 Apr 21;7(1):29-46. Cloutier O, Felusiak L, Hill C, Pemberton-Jones EJ. The importance of developing strategies for employee retention. Journal of Leadership, Accountability and Ethics. 2015 Jun 1;12(2):119. Oladapo V. The impact of talent management on retention. Journal of business studies quarterly. 2014 Mar 1;5(3):19. THOMPSON A. Walmart’s HRM: Recruitment, Selection, Employee Retention [Internet]. 2017 [cited 2 November 2017]. Available from: https://panmore /walmart-human-resource-management-recruitment-selection-employee-retention Horne MS, Williamson Jr TS, Herman A. The Contingent Workforce: Business and Legal Strategies. Law Journal Press; 2017 Feb 28. Stirpe L, Bonache J, Revilla A. Differentiating the workforce: The performance effects of using contingent labor in a context of high-performance work systems. Journal of Business Research. 2014 Jul 31;67(7):1334-41. King DB, O’rourke N, DeLongis A. Social media recruitment and online data collection: A beginner’s guide and best practices for accessing low-prevalence and hard-to-reach populations. Canadian Psychology/Psychologie canadienne. 2014 Nov;55(4):240. Armstrong M, Taylor S. Armstrong's handbook of human resource management practice. Kogan Page Publishers; 2014 Apr 3. Frynas JG, Mellahi K. Global strategic management. Oxford University Press, USA; 2015. Harper C. Organizations: Structures, processes and ou es. Routledge; 2015 Aug 13. Deery M, Jago L. Revisiting talent management, work-life balance and retention strategies. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management. 2015 Apr 13;27(3):453-72. Elnaga A, Imran A. The effect of training on employee performance. European Journal of Business and Management. 2013 Feb 28;5(4):137-47. Terera SR, Ngirande H. The impact of rewards on job satisfaction and employee retention. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences. 2014 Jan 5;5(1):481. Coetzee M, Stoltz E. Employees' satisfaction with retention factors: Exploring the role of career adaptability. Journal of Vocational Behavior. 2015 Aug 31;89:83-91. Sahebjamnia N, Torabi SA, Mansouri SA. Integrated business continuity and disaster recovery planning: Towards organizational resilience. European Journal of Operational Research. 2015 Apr 1;242(1):261-73. Banjo S. The end of an era at Walmart [Internet]. 2017 [cited 2 November 2017]. Available from: https://www.bloomberg /gadfly/articles/2016-03-31/walmart-s-first-ever-sales-drop-marks-new-era Contingency Planning and Workforce Training Builds Resilience [Internet]. NJMEP. 2017 [cited 2 November 2017]. Available from: https://www.njmep.org/blog/success_stories/contingency-planning-and-workforce-training-builds-resilience/ Konings J, Vanormelingen S. The impact of training on productivity and wages: firm-level evidence. Review of Economics and Statistics. 2015 May 1;97(2):485-97.

Declining Confidence in Government Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Declining Confidence in Government - Essay Example This essay looks into some of the texts that have focused on the issue. Balz, D. (October 13, 2013). Public confidence in GOP, government declining fast. The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://bangordailynews.com/2013/10/13/politics/public confidence-in-gop-government-declining-fast/ The Washington Post is a popular form of media that addresses most of the contentious issues facing the US and other parts of the world. The article highlights the recent events involving the US government that have resulted into a decline in public trust. The article discusses the surprising results from the Gallop Polls and the NBC News-Wall Street journal following the historic government shutdown (Balz, 2013). People knew that the threats of a regime default and the shutdown would lead to a disruption of the stability of political parties in Washington. It was even more surprising to find out that so much damage could be achieved in a short time. The article also states that the mistakes of the Republican Party also contributed to the shutdown. The article is viewed as showing some of the most alarming trends in the modern times. It was clear that the citizens have lost faith in the government and its ability to steer the country towards the right direction economically. It is clear that most citizens are pessimistic and are counting on the situation to get worse (Balz, 2013). The present standoff that has resulted into a considerable decline in public trust in the government is similar to the one experienced in the discussion about the increase in the debt ceiling. It has been observed that the decline in confidence in the government has fallen to levels that have never been experienced before. Democrats did not escape the criticism as well. This is owing to the fact that they were also blamed for the shutdown. The article states that the opinion polls from various organizations revealed similar trends in

E-Learning, the Possibilities of Replacing Traditional Learning Essay

E-Learning, the Possibilities of Replacing Traditional Learning - Essay Example This type of learning is also delivered via multimedia programmes that use text, graphics, video conferencing, and animations to better engage the learner, beneficial for auditory and visual learners as well (Takiya, Archbold & Berge, 2005). Traditional learning generally involves one or more instructors in an environment that promotes physical or auditory interaction with an instructor in the pursuit of knowledge sharing. E-learning, theoretically, provides this same function allowing for students in multiple environments to glean important knowledge using technology as the medium and replacing the physical interactivity between instructor and learner. As technology continues to improve, more and more colleges, businesses and universities are promoting new e-learning possibilities as a means to save on costs and improve the learning process. However, it is unclear as to whether e-learning maintains the same quality outcomes of traditional learning as the research evidence conflicts in relation to results of this type of learning. ... red it a vital tool for staff training, whilst 54 percent already had an e-learning programme in place or were considering developing and launching e-learning in the next year (isoph.com). This is a high volume of real-time environments that believe in the quality and integrity of these systems to achieve their learning goals. One benefit of e-learning is the self-paced functionality of the educational materials. Students or employees who learn via technology rather than in traditional format are able to schedule their own working times so as not to conflict with lifestyle needs. What this produces is more flexibility and also improves the level to which slower learners impede the progress of other students in a typical classroom environment. â€Å"Advanced learners are allowed to speed through or bypass instruction that is redundant while novices slow their own progress through content† (Kruse, 2009, p.1). What this theoretically produces is much less disruption to other stud ents and eliminates frustration with fellow learners (Kruse). In a typical environment, more gifted students often feel this frustration when content and progress is slowed by redundant learning efforts. In the United States, the state of Maine established e-learning in middle schools that reached over 42,000 students and included 5,000 instructors. When surveyed, more than 80 percent of educators believed it created more engaged students who produced higher quality learning outcomes (Intel, 2009). In Malaysia, e-learning programmes measured in 10 primary and secondary schools reported 85 percent of teachers believed it created a more collaborative and innovative learning environment when implemented in the classroom (Intel). According to Lowes (2005) students demand certain criteria when learning

Crime and Punishment Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Crime and Punishment - Assignment Example As a result, countries like America reflect increasing number of prisoners as recorded over the years. However psychologists are still continuing their researches on the causes of crimes and trying to decipher why individuals are entering the criminal justice system (Benson 2003). The basic roles of a prison system include: social isolation and confinement, repentance, punishment and deterrence, protection and reformation. A prison system leads to an isolation of the prisoner from the society such that the man’s violations of the legal system do not affect the lives of the common people. It is expected that he would repent on his wrong deeds if kept isolated. Also, with some pain and suffering, it would create some fears among the criminals. It is also the role of the prison system to protect the society from criminals which can be achieved through captivating the criminals. Reformation is the role that is focused on changing the attitude and mental condition of the individual s such that they do not repeat crimes (Bura 2012). Rehabilitation proves to be an essential role of the prison system since it is the prime motive of the justice system to rehabilitate the individuals who have committed crime. If rehabilitation is not focused, then bad people would only turn into worse. Instead, rehabilitation functions to restore the lives of the criminals by changing their mental condition, health conditions and their attitudes trying to prevent them from committing crimes again. Only then these individuals would be able to live normal lives once they are back into the society (Tanner 2012). Effectiveness of Prisons for Rehabilitation: The Present Day Situation: With the rates of punishment being increased and less focus being given on the resettlement needs of the criminals, the rehabilitation of the offenders in the prison system has become less likely to achieve in the present times. It is observed that most of the prisoners who are released are re-offending an d are taken back to prisons. This reflects the fact that the present day prison system is not proving to be effective in rehabilitating the prisoners and instead turning the mental state into worse through punishment measures (Cavadino 2006). Conclusion: Thus from the above study, it can be realized that although it is the role of the prison to make the criminals realize of their wrongdoings and rehabilitate them such that they can lead normal lives without affecting the society, yet in the present times the prison systems have proved not to be effective enough for rehabilitation of individuals, with their focus being more eon punishing the criminals and not correcting them as is needed. Task 2: Prison Does Not Work: Introduction: Prison punishments have been expected to prevent crimes and correct the mental attitudes of the criminals. Yet in the present times it is observed that prison overcrowding has become one of the major causes of concerns, particularly in countries like the A merica. Similar situation is observed in other countries as well presenting a doubt on whether the modern day prison system works or not (Big Question: Does the modern prison system work? 2013). Prison: The Dominant Form of Punishment: The use of prisons for punishing criminals had been into existence since over 200 years ago. Before

The Patriot Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Patriot - Movie Review Example Imdb (2009) says that one of the reasons Harrison Ford to decline the leading role was because he has got the feeling that the Revolutionary war is depicted as "one-man's-revenge". I believe that even though the plot of the film is centered on the American Revolution, the film focuses around the personal drama of the main character, rather than accurately describing the historical events. Even though the character of Benjamin Martin is slightly based on real life of the soldier Francis Marion, the film resembles a melodramatic performance by Gibson (Harvey 2000). Garabedian (2009) comments that the film gets too personal and does not maintain the balance between the film's action and the main character's revenge. The director missed to represent the historical events in depth. Instead the audience witnesses ongoing bloody battles, where people are chopped off and killed all the time (Garabedian 2009). The bloodshed seems to be endless. What is ignored is some brief explanation about the historical background that the movie is representing. The fighting scenes are very unsettling. Harvey (2000) observes that the overuse of slow motion photography in most of the battles distort the senses of the viewer, as they can witness soldiers being struck by musket ball and the blood that spatter. Such a super slow motion was not necessary. Why do you think the film was made when it was, and for what underlying purpose, if any I believe that the film was filmed in order to instigate pride in Americans and to show how they built up their patriotism. The underlying purpose for me was also to see the Revolution through the eyes of one man who was led to take part in the war, out of his duty to protect both the land and the people from the British. What do you think might have been happening in the contemporary climate when the film was made that could have influenced how the movie portrayed the past The movie release data was in June 2000. If the movie was filmed two years from then, I presume that the focus will not be on one man only. After the events of September 11, I think that the patriot theme will concentrate around how the whole nation fights against its independence, instead of showing one evil man - Col. William Tavington against the inspiration of the good - Benjamin Martin. What does the movie say both about the historical past it depicts and about the historical present when the film was made In my opinion the movie goes too much into personal details and melodrama, interpersonal conflicts and aspirations rather than clarifying the historical circumstances that led to the American Revolution. The fight for freedom is not the fight of a nation, but the fight of a family, or several people trying to intercommunicate why they do it. The film reminds us that it is made is modern times, thanks to the violent, battle scenes that can shock any viewer. However, filmmakers beautifully recreates the atmosphere of the late 1700 with original South Caroline landscapes and cottages. How receptive do you think audiences at the time might have been to see a movie like the one you